spacetoday.net: Poll: majority wants shuttle grounded until new goals set

Posted: Sun, Jul 20, 2003, 1:13 PM ET (1713 GMT)
A poll published Sunday by the Houston Chronicle reveals that a majority of Americans want to keep the space shuttle grounded until NASA redefines the goals of the nation's space program. The poll, conducted in late June and early July by Zogby International for the Chronicle, showed that 54 percent of 800 Americans asked believed that "the shuttle program should not resume until the future of the space program had been re-defined." That same percentage also believed that the Columbia Accident Investigation Board should also take a broader look at the space program in general. Despite those concerns, though, three out of four said they did not believe the US should end manned spaceflight, and more than two-thirds thought the benefits of manned flight outweighed the risks. Overall 69% of respondents gave NASA a positive approval rating, compared to 23% who gave the agency a negative rating.