Science: The Practical Spacemen

Data on space flight is a valuable byproduct of the billions of dollars the government is pouring into its military missile program. A successful intercontinental ballistic missile, for example, will be a close cousin of a space vehicle, since it will spend much of its flight time in space and would need only 9% more energy to become an earth satellite.

Last week some 500 scientists, encouraged by this growing fund of information, gathered in San Diego at a symposium held by the Air Force and Convair Division of General Dynamics Corp. to talk...