Hello, my friends, this is Dr. Beter. Today is November 8, 1981, and this is my AUDIO LETTER No. 69.

The military shuttle planners are still actively considering a deliberately aborted launch soon, and they want to prepare us in case they carry it out. But on November 4 the launch preparations were only make-believe, and so NASA pressed ahead with the countdown with only lip service to the worsening weather. The countdown went without a hitch to the “T minus 9 minutes“ mark and then stopped for a final planned “Hold.“ We were told that this was the decision point when Launch Control would either go ahead or “scrub.“ Newsmen craned their necks at the worsening clouds and shook their heads. It began to rain on spectators 10 miles from the launch pad; then the rain reached the VIP stand, twice as close to the shuttle; next, rain started pelting TV reporters at their forward outposts, closest of all to the launch pad. Surely, they said, NASA would have to scrub the launch; but to NASA Launch Control, only the countdown itself mattered that day. They knew there could be no launch because the countdown computer had been programmed to prevent it, and so the announcement from NASA surprised many. The decision was to go ahead for a launch. The final 9 minutes of the countdown were used to help lay the foundation for things to come. My three special topics for this AUDIO LETTER are: Topic #1--THE SADAT ASSASSINATION FOR NUCLEAR WAR ONE Topic #2--THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM TO POLANDIZE AMERICA Topic #3--THE MX DECISION AND AMERICA’S FIRST-STRIKE POSTURE.