Jacob Aron, reporter
To borrow an oft-repeated phrase from the Star Wars universe: they got a bad feeling about this. The White House has declined to build a Death Star - the fictional planet-destroying space station that features in the Star Wars film series - but has taken the opportunity to inspire a new generation of scientists.
The request for a Death Star appeared on 14 November on the White House's We the People website, which allows anyone to set up a petition and promises to respond to those that receive enough support. The petition, which got more than 34,000 signatures, suggests that construction of a Death Star could "spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense".
Now the White House has posted a good-natured response. Paul Shawcross, chief of White House budget office's science and space branch, writes:
The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn't on the horizon.
Reasonably, Shawcross cites the lack of US support for blowing up
planets, plus the high cost - estimated at close to $1 quintillion - of
the Death Star as reasons for rejecting the project. He also points out the
station is already known to have a fatal flaw, as demonstrated by one
Luke Skywalker (in the original Star Wars, he destroys the Death Star by exploiting a loophole in its design).
Shawcross uses the petition to highlight the success of the US's existing space projects, including the International Space Station, the Mars Curiosity rover and the exoplanet-hunting Kepler telescope.
He also plugs the benefits of working in science or technology as a means of "ensuring
the United States continues leading the world in doing big things".
If you do pursue a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field, the Force will be with us!
White House uses Death Star request to plug science
This article
White House uses Death Star request to plug science
can be opened in url
https://newspoket.blogspot.com/2013/01/white-house-uses-death-star-request-to.html
White House uses Death Star request to plug science
