Bias

Brazil’s Man in Space: A Mere ‘Hitchhiker,’ or a Hero?, NY Times

“But many Brazilian scientists, along with newspaper columnists and editorial writers, have criticized the voyage, which ends early Sunday, as a boondoggle. They argue that the roughly $10.5 million that Brazil paid Russia to launch Colonel Pontes aboard a Soyuz rocket would have been better spent on research here on Earth or invested in rebuilding a space port destroyed in 2003 in a launching pad explosion that killed 21 scientists and technicians.”

Editor’s note: This strikes me as the sort of article you get when a reporter (who does not specialize in space) decides what personal point he wants to make – and then works backward to find the quotes that help him do so. I have to wonder if what he portrays as being Brazil’s feelings about this flight truly reflect the collective aspirations of a nation which has just joined an exclusive club by virtue of having a fellow citizen fly in space – a nation whose flag is filled with more stars than any flag on Earth – except America’s.

Ad astra, Brazil