Hi

Having thought about it, I remember getting the NASA Office of Inspector General statments on the Ames affair as well. (The flu is going around, sorry for not alerting you to these last night).

The Aldrige Commission's point is very well taken in some instances - particuarly at Ames, where you have a mutitude of fine universities in the Bay Area, and high tech companies there as well, along with venture capital. They would all like to enjoy the situation CalTech has. A move along these lines would ensure Ames vitality and productivity for years to come -

Many years back, I once spoke for the better part of an hour with the guy who ran tech transfer out of Marshall in Alabama about the problems he faced. In the old days, US industry was strong enough to simply build new labs and facilities in another area - i.e. Houston, for example. Alabama hoped to do the same.

Meaning no insult to the fine folks of Alabama, US industry can't do that anymore. NASA has to go where the industries and the universities are, and this means the Bay Area, Boston corridor (5 major universites), Rochester (photonics), NJ corridor (biotech - agencies othen than NASA are probably key here).

Detroit, for mechanical, robotic, materials, combustion, and electrical storage systems - help is desperately needed here, if we want to hold on to our indeustries. Glenn could be the base, but something closer is needed. The Pennsylvania congressional delegation is to be admired for getting robotics at Carnegie Mellon, but is that really the place where our tax dollars spent in this area can do the most good?

We need to focus, husband our resources. We have lost the robotics industry entirely, and othe manufacturing has been severely hit. We all know how hard steel has been hit, and Pennsylvania and Ohio are both reeling; the key is avoiding a political fight while building a focus; the Michigan leaders have been lax in exploting the possibilites...

We also have Cornell and SWRI as key centers for planetary sciences/geology and physics.

Where Marshall has excelled is in launch vehicles and engines. I think they should focus intensely on this area - I believe that significant improvements can be made to propulsion systems, particualrly in the area of reclaiming energy that is currently lost through heat; other engine technology is not progressing as well as it could; big duimb boosters (gas pressure fed engines) is another area.

Given the ephemeral nature of the Habitable Zone, I often wonder why I spend time here - but it does serve as a place to contemplate, as well as to meet others interested in some issues...

ep