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Tuesday, February 22, 2000
THE BATTALION
Page 7
1 uesd ay. Febnar,
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SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) —
tfter scrutinizing three-quarters of the
arth’s land area, the crew of space
buttle Endeavour switched off its eye
o the planet Monday and reeled in the
adar mast.
The 197-foot mast and its antenna
ame in smoothly, in just 18 1/2 min-
jtes. But after the mast folded up into
canister in the shuttle cargo bay, the
istronauts. had to struggle for a cou-
le of hours more to get it to latch
jroperly.
Applause broke out in Mission Con-
p # rol when the problem was finally
"olved and the mast was latched firm-
iy on the fourth try.
“Thanks for the exciting finish to an
exciting mapping portion of the mis
sion,” Mission Control said.
Earlier, commander Kevin Kregel of
fered to have two of his crew go out on
a spacewalk to secure all three latches.
Mission Control politely declined.
“The only two sad faces we have in
the cockpif’are those of the two desig
nated spacew'alkers, Kregel joked.
At least two of the latches had to be
closed in order to keep the mast from
coming out of the canister and bang
ing into something during Tuesday’s
planned landing. All three latches end
ed up closing. If the latch problem
hadn’t been fixed, NASA might have
been forced to junk the entire mast and
I canister into space.
In nine days and six hours of map
ping, the astronauts surveyed 43.5 mil
lion square miles of the Earth’s terrain at
least twice. Double imaging is needed to
create ultra-
precise 3-D
maps of the
planet’s
peaks and
valleys, as far
north as Alas
ka and as far
south as the
tip of South
America.
The astro
nauts fin
ished their
unprecedent
ed Earth
mapping
mission after
passing over
Flinders Is
land, just
southeast of
Australia in
the Tasman Sea.
The mapping gathered enough geo
graphic data to fill 20,600 compact discs.
“We’d like to congratulate you on a
flawless operation of this most sophis
ticated mapping instrument, in the uni
verse,” Mission Control told the astro
nauts after mapping ended, just before
7 a.m. EST. “This topographic data-
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HOUSTON (AP) —The U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration has sus
pended an informant it has paid $2.2
million over 16 years, during which
time he is accused of lying about his <
own criminal record, the Houston
Chronick reported Monday.
The agency took the ‘action this
month on Andrew Chambers, pending
a background review, the newspaper re
ported. The Dl-A also is reviewing its
own procedures regarding the issue.
“In our review thus far. Chambers
has been arrested on about six occa
sions, not including traffic offenses,”
said DEA spokesman Terry Parham.
“He has not been convicted of a felony
or any offense involving honesty.”
His arrests include two for solicita
tion ofprostitution, one for forgery, one
for theft, one for a domestic assault and
one for impersonating a police officer,
the newspaper reported. His only
known conviction came in a Denver so
licitation case.
“In certain circumstances, the pros
ecutors and (DEA) case agents were ap
parently unaware of the fact that Cham
bers had an arrest record,” Parham said.
“Chambers provided false testimony
on the witness stand about his arrest
record on at least three occasions.”
Defense attorneys whose clients
have faced cases involving testimony
by Chambers have complained for
years about Chambers. Chambers’ new
ly discovered arrest record might open
the door to appeals, they say.
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler
in Washington, D.C., ordered the DEA
to disclose Chambers’ full criminal his
tory, specific criminal cases he worked
and how much he was paid. She cited
evidence “suggesting massive govern
ment misconduct.”
The DEA responded Jan. 7, but did
not report Chambers’ solicitation arrest
in Houston. The agency also has yet to
produce details of the cases Chambers
worked, according to attorney H. Dean
Steward.
Steward, a Santa Ana, Calif, feder
al public defender who represents the
plaintiff in the suit that led to Kessler’s
order, contended in court papers filed
last week that the DEA response was in
sufficient.
“It appears to have been prepared to
reveal only information plaintiff al
ready has,” Steward wrote.
Steward asserts a wiretap crucial to
a homicide case against his client nev
er would have been authorized if Cham
bers' record had been disclosed.
DEA agents and prosecutors, how
ever, praise Chambers for his work in
more than 20 cities, including Houston,
Los Angeles and Miami — which they
say has led to the arrests of 445 defen
dants, and seizure of more than a ton of
cocaine, $6 million in assets and nu
merous weapons and motor vehicles.
“I have heard other DEA special
agents and law enforcement personnel
call him the best at what he does,”
Parham said. “He put his own life at
risk on behalf of the American public to
put serious violent criminals in jail.”
Chambers did not respond to an in
terview request by the Chronicle.
base will be a real treasure of the hu
man race for many years.”
The mission actually came up about
5 percentage points short of its original
goal of
mapping
80 percent
of the
Earth’s
land mass
es, because
of a prob
lem with a
thruster on
the end of
the mast.
Still,
scientists
are getting
more radar
data than
they had
expected a
week ago,
since the
astronauts
squeezed
in an extra nine hours of mapping late
Sunday and today to make up part of
the deficit.
It will take scientists one to two
years to go through all the material the
shuttle captured. NASA and its partner,
the National Imagery and Mapping
Agency, expect the maps to be the most
complete and accurate ever produced.
“We'd like to congratu
late you on a flawless
operation of this most
sophisticated mapping
instrument in the uni
verse. This topographic
database will be a real
treasure of the human
race for many years.”
— Mission Control
Houston, Texas
The Defense Department will use
the maps to improve its aim of missiles
and its deployment of troops. Almost
everyone else will have to settle for less
precise data because of national secu
rity issues, but the information still will
be far superior to what is currently
available.
“There’s every reason to be excit
ed,” said the mapping agency’s
Thomas Hennig.
A malfunctioning thruster on the
end of the mast, the longest rigid struc
ture ever flown in space, chopped 2.5
million square miles off of the area the
shuttle was able to map. The crew man
aged to conserve enough fuel during
the last week to permit mapping on
Sunday.
NASA tacked on an extra nine hours
and 10 minutes of mapping time. The
10 minutes, added over the weekend,
gave the Endeavour one last survey of
Australia. But the extra surveying
meant the $35 million mast and its an
tenna would have had to be dumped
overboard if it had not retracted, since
there was no time left for an emergency
spacewalk to bring it inside.
The mast extended from Endeav
our’s cargo bay with ease a few hours
after launch Feb. 11. It began working
the fortowing day. Except for the prob
lem with the thruster, the radar system
worked flawlessly through the mission.
Juiy to decide on
death for slayer
FORT WORTI1, Texas (AP) — Jurors who convicted a former grocery store
worker in a developmentally impaired woman’s torture and slaying heard Mon
day from a high school teacher as they considered whether he should receive
lethal injection for the attack.
The start of Michael Wayne Hall’s punishment phase followed a stay of exe
cution last week for his co-defendant, Robert Neville, who once admitted he and
Hall tortured and killed Amy Robinson “for the adrenaline rush.”
The men previously admitted turning the girl into “target practice,” shoot
ing her with arrows, a pellet gun and a pistol.
But Chris Bybee, who was Hall’s math teacher at North Garland High
School, testified the 20-year-old was a quiet, well-behaved student w'ho strug
gled academically.
“Michael was just lazy sometimes,” Bybee testified. “I thought he might have
given up too quickly” on study challenges.
Defense attorney Bill Harris later told reporters that a clinical psychologist
who examined Hall also would testify in the defense presentation that could
last through Tuesday.
Harris said defense attomeys would try to show that Hall is “mentally retard
ed” and had “a lot of problems in his family.”
A court-appointed attorney for Neville said Sunday that a state district court
judge granted the stay so that an appeal could be prepared.
Neville, 25, had been scheduled to die April 27 after being convicted in De
cember 1998 for his role in the slaying of Robinson, a 19-year-old woman from
Arlington who was mentally retarded.
The decision to appeal — a marked reversal of earlier stances, when Neville
said he was ready to die — could postpone his execution for another 2 1/2 years,
his attorney, Robert Ford told the Arlington Morning News.
Ford, a Fort Worth lawyer, said Neville expressed a desire to have the ex
ecution stayed a couple of weeks ago but never explained why. Nevertheless,
Ford said he suspected Neville’s impending execution date had something to
do with the request.
Hall was convicted of capital murder Friday in Fort Worth district court. Ju
rors could now sentence Hall to death or life imprisonment.
Robinson’s grandmother, Carolyn Barker, said she had expected Neville to
change his mind from when he first waived his appeal.
m MSC
n ri '/ 'J f
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attend one of the following
informationals:
Feb 22 at 5:30pm, Rudder 707,
or
Feb 28 at 5:30pm, Rudder 401
Or get an application from our website at...
http://conversations.tamu.edu
To inform us of your special needs, call 845-8770 or stop by MSC 223M —
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Discussion includes concept
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Thursday Feb. 24 th MSC 228
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Sponsored by Muslim Students’ Association
Email: islaml01@tainu.edu
STUDY ABROAD
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FALL 2000
Hurry, only 11 spots available!
Enroll in a minimum of iz credits in courses
taught in English by TAMU professors
OPEN TO ALL MAJORS:
CARC 301: Graphic Arts (3)
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CARC 311-552: Installations/Galleries & Exhibits (3)
CARC 331/ARTS 350: History of Art & Civilization (3)
CARC 485: Directed Studies (3)
CARC 489: Special Topics (3)
ENDS 311: Photography (3)
= or more information A to pick up an application
TAMU Study Abroad Office .
Bizzell Hall West - Room #161
845-0544
(3)
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Qoiden ‘K^X National Honor Society
Meeting
Tuesday, February 22nd
8:30 p.m. Koldus 111
Summer Job!
)1 Rodder
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Applications are now being accepted for the
College Station Summer Day Camp
Are you looking for a fun and exciting job this summer that is
both challenging and rewarding? Are you a hard working,
responsible individual that has experience working with children
ages 5-12? If so, then the College Station Summer Day Camp is
now accepting applications until March 3 rd for both part-time
and full-time positions. The camp is 11 weeks long (May 29-Aug
11) and offers a variety of games, art projects and field trips.
There are two all day camps ages (5-8) and (9-12) and a half-day
camp. Applications may be picked up at 103 Timber St. #4.
Any questions call 764-5430.
Tfh<? Company Visit
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Vow Jcx?en invited to ot compcfirtp)
visit. Wfiott is tEie oroceptciJblG protocol
for JoJo crppliccruts during cjm on—site
visit ernd Job interview? Tfiis is can
important semiincur tfiat ujow must
attend !
Twesdauj, Feb. 22— 3:30pm—<501 Rudder
Panelists from:
KPAAG, Ciber, and General /Wills
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