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Published online 15 October 2008 | Nature 455, 854-857 (2008) | doi:10.1038/455854a

News Feature

Particle physics: Sam Ting's last fling

The International Space Station's one chance of scientific greatness rests on a high-profile refugee from the world of the particle accelerator - but is it too long a shot to be worth taking? Eric Hand reports.

Eric Hand

In 1994 Dan Goldin, then the administrator of NASA, was on the look out for sexy scientific ideas. In particular, he needed something that would endear the International Space Station — a merger of America's earlier space station plans with those of Russia — to scientific sceptics unimpressed by the experimental opportunities it offered.

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  • Whether or not this concept of Sam Ting proves to be correct, it is encouraging to see NASA (or any federal research agency) pursuing the idea of an individual. That is where new ideas always arise, rather than in committees of research collaborators. With kind regards, Oliver K. Manuel, http://myprofile.cos.com/manuelo09

    • 15 Oct, 2008
    • Posted by: O M