October 14, 1986

Mikhail S. Gorbachev returned from Iceland today to a rising chorus in the press echoing his assertion that President Reagan had let a historic chance at agreement on arms control slip by clinging to his ''Star Wars'' program. But as word spread about the failure to achieve agreement at the summit meeting, Russians and Western diplomats sought to understand what happened. There were those who wondered why Mr. Gorbachev had gambled so much on blocking the Strategic Defense Initiative, especially if he was aware of Mr. Reagan's strong attachment to the program. Consensus on 'Star Wars' Privately, some Russians expressed disappointment and some dismay as they watched Mr. Gorbachev's press conference on television and the gloomy sense it gave that Soviet-American dialogue had hit a dead end in Iceland.

The panel charged with overseeing the redesign of space shuttle rockets has urged the space agency to explore wholly new designs and expressed ''serious concern'' about the adequacy of its current testing program. The panel, in a seven-page letter to the Adminstrator of the National Aeronatuics and Space Administration that was released today, called for ''significant augmentation'' of both tests and testing facilities. Among its recommendations was one to build a second testing stand for the rockets. Panel's First Recommendations The letter contained the panel's first official judgment on the merits of the present rocket redesign and its first recommendations on NASA's testing program.

Eight years after the United States Supreme Court upheld the city's designation of Grand Central Terminal as a landmark, the future of the midtown blocks around it - and perhaps the character of the terminal itself - is again at stake. In an unusually bitter behind-the-scenes zoning battle, city planners have raised questions about the amount of air rights that the Penn Central Corporation contends it is entitled to sell as a result of the landmark designation, which thwarted its plan to build a 53-story tower atop the terminal. Air rights, also known as development rights, are the difference between the size of a building and the maximum size on that lot permitted by zoning regulations. A 40,000-square-foot building on a lot zoned for a 100,000-square-foot building would generate 60,000 square feet of air rights. Air Rights Uncertain The battle over the air rights involve two primary issues, one of which has already received publicity -whether Penn Central can sell many of its air rights to a site bounded by 46th and 47th Streets and Madison and Vanderbilt Avenues. There, the First Boston Corporation wants to build a retail and office tower that is taller than the Chrysler Building.

American officials at least indirectly supported Nicaraguan rebel supply flights out of El Salvador, according to two sources here. They also said a longtime Central Intelligence Agency employee identified by an American jailed in Nicaragua was involved in the operation. The two sources have close knowledge of El Salvador and have contact both with C.I.A. agents and the men flying supplies to the Nicaraguan rebels from El Salvador. Both sources said they strongly support American aid to the rebels and chose to speak because they are angry about the ''amateurishness'' of operations to aid the rebels.

Hiring Under ScrutinyA year and a half after it was formed - following several incidents of police misconduct - a mayoral panel is about to issue its preliminary report on how to better train, discipline and recruit police officers, and some of the ideas are certain to anger the police union. The report, in draft form, includes these recommendations: * Increasing the probation period from 18 months to two years to give recruits more experience. * De-emphasizing the policy of recruiting and promoting primarily on the basis of Civil Service tests, and allowing the Commissioner to make some promotions based on performance and evaluations. * Making college a consideration in the selection of recruits, so that a candidate who completed at least two years of college could be exempt from the test or given some credit in his score.