Word: vegas
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Sharon's song is not the first hit about child abuse. Last summer Folk-Rock Singer Suzanne Vega reached the Top Ten with Luka, a more understated and artful approach to the topic. Nonetheless, the mournful plea of Dear Mr. Jesus clearly strikes a chord. "You can go on with child-abuse announcements and public service all you want," says Buddy Scott, program director for WBBM-FM in Chicago, "but this song causes an emotion in you that you really are not prepared...
DIRECTOR Marci Bobis opens her version of Gamma Rays with the Suzanne Vega song "Small Blue Thing," its lyrics illustrated by slides of depression and grimness. As a prologue, the song provides an interesting interpretation of the play. But the snatches of the song that play between scenes disrupt the mood and continuity of Gamma Rays. It seems little more than a cover for the noises of a scene change...
Sagdeyev was already embarked on another project, one that could have ended his career. Called Vega, the mission was designed to approach and study Halley's comet. Sagdeyev chose to build Vega around the proven, off-the-shelf technology of the Venera probes. But he wanted the scientific instruments to be custom designed, even though the expertise was not available within the U.S.S.R. So he recruited scientists from nine countries, including the U.S., to join the project. That was unheard-of in security-conscious Soviet space circles. Recalls Sagdeyev: "Sometimes my opponents, in order to take over, were almost ready...
...gamble paid off spectacularly. On March 4, 1986, having swung by Venus to drop off scientific probes, Vega 1 trained its camera on the comet, then less than 9 million miles away, and relayed high-quality pictures to earth. Two days later, it came within 5,500 miles of the comet's heart. Although pelted by dust, Vega 1 revealed for the first time the dimensions and dynamics of the ten-mile-long nucleus...
...Vega mission put the world on notice that the Soviet Union would not take a backseat to anyone in space science. Admits NASA's Briggs: "They closed a big gap." But Sagdeyev has made it clear that catching up was only the beginning. He has now directed his considerable intellect, political capital and diplomatic charm to another high-risk international mission. If all goes according to plan, the Phobos probes will take off next summer for Mars. When they reach the Red Planet some 200 days and 118 million miles later, they will orbit for a time, taking data...