AS A media strategy, inviting a crowd of hacks to play with rubbery pink goop is certainly novel. After 10 minutes getting our hands dirty, we’re beginning to feel convinced. It seems any fool can fix a broken shuttle with this stuff. Which is just what’s intended, because NASA has organised this workshop to showcase its efforts to bring the space shuttle back into service.
The speakers include top engineers and project managers, and all strike a cautiously optimistic note that belies the reality. Because of technical hitches, NASA has already put back the scheduled return-to-flight date from March 2004…
