Pro-space candidates won and lost in U.S. Congressional elections earlier this month, with incumbents generally victorious but one key pro-space candidate barely hanging on to his lead.
     Rep. George Brown, a Democrat in California's 42nd District, led his Republican challenger, Linda Wilde, by less than 900 votes at press time. The long-time Congressman had led by over 1,000 votes after the polls closed, but the margin has closed as absentee ballots were counted.
     Brown is a former chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and currently the ranking minority member of the House Science Committee. His district in southern California's "Inland Empire" has grown more Republican in recent years.
     Another strong pro-space Congressman, Dana Rohrbacher, easily won reelection. The Republican who represents California's 45 District in Orange County defeated his Democratic challenger by nearly a 2-to-1 margin.
     Other pro-space candidates challenging incumbents did not fare as well. Betty Hull, a Democrat challenging long-time Rep. Phil Crane in Illinois' 8th District in suburban Chicago (see the November issue of SpaceViews) lost to Crane by a margin of 63 to 37 percent.
     Nancy Norman, a pro-space Republican challenging Democrat Rep. Michael McNulty in New York's 21st District, lost by greater than a 2-to-1 margin. The district is in New York's "Capital Region" which includes Albany and Schenectady.

China and Brazil reached an agreement earlier this month to launch up to four remote sensing spacecraft on Chinese rockets over the next several years, including two as early as next year.
     Chinese premier Li Peng signed the accord in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia on November 8 during a five-day state visit to the South American nation.
     The spacecraft will be designed by a $150-million Chinese-Brazilian joint venture that has already been established. The satellites will be used for communications and for investigations of natural resources.
     The first launch of the satellites is planned for next October. No date was announced for future satellites.