Officials Worried Shuttle Could Be Target

U.S. intelligence sources tell ABCNEWS that NASA officials are increasingly worried that the July 19 launch of the Space Shuttle, which will be carrying an Israeli astronaut for the first time, could be a prime target for terrorists. Giving weight to the concern is the fact that suspicious activity has been observed around the launch complex that could have been surveillance, the sources said.

The fear is that the launch could be vulnerable to a suicide attack by a small, low-flying plane, the sources said.
Having an Israeli astronaut on an American rocket could make the launch a target too attractive for some desperate terrorist groups to resist, the intelligence sources said.

Concerns about the space shuttle launch come amid heightened fears about the possibility of weapons of mass destruction being smuggled into the United States on cargo ships.