THE latest mission of the space shuttle Columbia was conceived
as a unique approach to advancing scientists' understanding of
the cosmos, particularly the hot, violent events that send out
radiations invisible to the naked eye. The shuttle's much-
troubled mission was saved from technical failure after quick
improvisation by ground crews. But the success was qualified.
Due to land early this morning, it was brought back one day
short of the planned 10 days and observed only 140 of its 250
targets. The $150 million payload is also considered by some
experts to be a prime example of how relatively small projects
like it are often squeezed out by the big-ticket items favored
by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. By
coincidence, a White House panel charged with charting the
agency's future yesterday released a report criticizing NASA for
its dependence on the shuttle and for pursuing grandiose big-
budget projects at the expense of smaller ventures like
Columbia's space telescopes that nevertheless