http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/2...9/5417836s.htm

NASA support up after tragedy 3 out of 4 find fatal missions acceptable
By Alan Levin and Traci Watson
USA TODAY


WASHINGTON -- Americans support the space program, especially after tragedy strikes, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll.

Six months after the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry, support to increase the budget of NASA is as high as it has been since the Challenger disaster in 1986, the poll found. People also said some deadly accidents were ''an acceptable price to pay'' for space travel.

But the poll results and interviews with space historians reveal a troublesome undercurrent for NASA: The public's affection for space exploration isn't very deep. Those polled placed a low priority on spaceflight compared with federal spending on defense and health care. That leaves NASA vulnerable when the economy turns bad or political tides turn against its interests.

The depth of public support could prove crucial in the coming months. Next week, the board investigating the cause of the Columbia disaster is to release its findings. Its report is expected to sharply criticize NASA and call for improving safety in the shuttle program. Reaction to the report by members of Congress and their constituents will play a critical role in whether NASA will receive the resources it needs to improve the shuttle and build a replacement craft.

The poll found:

* Only 17% of people said spending on the space program should be cut. That's less than half of the 41% who wanted spending cuts in 1993. The level is the lowest since 1989, just months after shuttle flights resumed following the Challenger explosion.

* The percentage of people who favor increasing NASA funding, 24%, is the highest since 1989. About half of those polled said they prefer current funding levels, which are the highest since 1986.

* The public accepts some risk that astronauts will die. Only 17% considered any shuttle accidents ''unacceptable.'' Slightly fewer than half, 43%, said they would accept one accident every 100 flights; 32% said they would accept an accident every 50 missions or fewer. Two shuttles have crashed in 113 flights.

''Support goes up when there's a crisis,'' says Roger Launius, chairman of the space history division at the National Air and Space Museum. A similar surge in support occurred in the years after Challenger. But Launius and others believe that the public's feelings are fickle.

When asked whether they would shave money from the space budget to fund other programs, people overwhelmingly favored defense (60% rated it a higher priority) and health care (74%). Only welfare (38%) fared more poorly than funding NASA.

NASA's budget was cut during the 1990s; even steeper cuts were made in the shuttle program. Most people polled were unaware of those cuts. Only 29% of people thought NASA's budget had shrunk over the past 10 years compared with the overall federal budget. Nearly twice as many people, 56%, thought the budget had remained the same or increased.