Calling Buck Rogerski

By Janice Castro

President Reagan raised skeptical eyebrows back in 1986 when he rhapsodized about plans to build the Orient Express, a hypersonic jet that could take off from a New York airport and reach Tokyo in two hours by taking a side trip into orbit. It turns out that while space fan DAN QUAYLE has doggedly pursued the plans -- with marginal success so far--the former Soviet Union had plowed ahead of the U.S. Soviet scientists successfully tested an engine for a space plane last year. The Pentagon might consider placing a few help-wanted ads in Yeltsin country.

With reporting by Wendy Cole