Photograph by George Sakkestad
Moffett Field Historical Society Treasurer Ken Austin looks at a model of the U.S.S. Macon, on display at the museum.
By LESTER CHANG
A NASA space shuttle could become part of a multimillion-dollar air and space center proposed at Moffett Field, a space agency official told residents at a meeting at the Sunnyvale Library on April 7.
Michael Marlaire, chief of external affairs for NASA Ames Research, said there are no guarantees, but the shuttle could be brought to the center when it is retired.
The Moffet Field Historical Society proposes to locate the center inside a hangar at the airfield.
The shuttle and the project would help make the airfield a world attraction and help NASA maintain the former military base, Carl Honaker, president of MFHS, said after the meeting.
The center, which NASA is considering as a way to support operations at the airfield, would hold exhibits to teach people about space technology and exploration.
It would be developed at a cost of up to $80 million, Honaker said.
The proposal by MFHS conflicts with a similar proposal by the California Air and Space Center Foundation to have a center placed on a 19-acre site near the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View.
The nonprofit foundation--a partnership between the city of Mountain View and NASA--has pursued that proposal since 1989.
The project hasn't gotten off the ground because of funding, Honaker said.
NASA's Marlaire said no decision has been made about where to put the center.
"Either [site] could be picked, depending on which one was the most feasible," he said.
The foundation, Mountain View and NASA will make the final decision, he said. Sunnyvale, should it become part of the decision-making process, could also have some say in the matter.
Fred Fowler, a Sunnyvale resident and a member of the advisory committee, said he liked the idea of having the project at the former military base.
"It is exciting," Fowler said. "It goes along with NASA's mission to promote space exploration."
The center could be a place where NASA scientists could work side by side with representatives from high-tech companies in Silicon Valley, Fowler said.
"A lot of technology developed at Ames can be applied to semiconductor technology and computer software," he added.
The center could become a showcase for the latest products developed in Silicon Valley, he said.
The MFHS proposal includes two movie theaters, an educational facility to discuss space exploration, an exposition hall, restaurants and gift shops.
The hangar will be available next year, when a naval air reserve unit moves into another hangar, Honaker said.
The Moffett Field Historical Society Museum now occupies a small space within the hangar, which covers eight acres. Should the new project fly, "we would hope we would be a part of that," said Jim Sheehan, vice president of the MFHS and a museum docent.
The proposed center could generate funds to help NASA maintain the airfield, committee members said.
The operators of the museum center would pay fees. In addition, money could be generated through ticket sales for air shows that could be staged at Moffett Field, Honaker said.
NASA is considering additional tenants as a way to raise funds to support the air base.
NASA is $3.1 short of the $11.9 million required this year to operate the base's buildings and airfield.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 16, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.