Ames Doesn't Need Moffett

This is from a front page article in the Monday, July 29th San FranciscoChronicle, titled "Moffet Field's Future is Up in the Air". There'sa lot more to this very good article, but here's the part about the relationshipof Ames to MFA.

Henry McDonald, Ames' new director, was in Washington last week trying to persuade NASA administrator Dan Goldin to restore some of thecuts in personnel ordered last year - from 1,646 civil service employeesto 1,395.

Because Goldin wants to make Ames the leader in information technology, McDonald is pushing for 195 more jobs. He said the agency no longer needsto test its ideas on aircraft based at Moffett, and can instead use thewind tunnel or a high-speed computer. This will involve working more closelywith Silicon Valley companies, local universities such as Stanford and theUniversity of California at Berkeley, and other government agencies to designspace vehicles and aircraft.

Silicon Valley Relationship

NASA wants to move most of the aircraft at Ames to Dryden Flight ResearchFacility at Edwards Air Force Base near the Mojave Desert, a move some critics,notably Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, D-Atherton, believe cannot be justifiedeconomically and would only serve to further endanger NASA's research programand symbiotic relationship with Silicon Valley.

McDonald insisted that such a move would have little impact on Ames.

"Aircraft-related missions are not a major role for Ames and haven'tbeen for some time," he said.