Kistiakowsky Attacks SST Funds

George B. Kistiakowsky, Lawrence Professor of Chemistry, publicly urged last week that Congress defeat the Nixon Administration's proposal for a supersonic transport, saying that the SST would be an "appallingly bad use of the taxpayers' money."

Letter

In a letter to Rep. Henry S. Reuss (D-Wis.), Kistiakowsky, a former adviser to President Eisenhower, said that the SST "could not be used by the majority of the people" in the United States. He added that the expense of tickets on the airplane and the inability of the SST to fly short distances mean that only the rich will be able to use it.

The SST would jeopardize the environment, Kistiakowsky said, because its "sonic boom" would create noise pollution and the huge amounts of kerosene required as fuel threaten the atmosphere.

"I don't trust the people who are spokesmen for the SST," Kistiakowsky stated. Claims that the SST will cause little damage to the environment are "outrageously disingenuous," he added.

Boeing Aircraft, the producer of the SST, is currently asking Congress for an appropriation of $250 million to manufacture two SST prototypes. Congress has granted funds only through this month and is now considering whether the SST program should continue to receive Federal funds.