THAT GIANT PECKING SOUND

A new threat to the nation's beleaguered space program surfaced from an unexpected quarter this week when NASA officials announced that woodpeckers had been drilling holes in the insulation on Discovery's external fuel tank. The holes could jeopardize a shuttle launch scheduled for June 8. Mission managers are assessing the damage, but there is no word on how they plan to protect Discovery from fresh assaults by hungry yellow-shafted northern flickers.