By KATHERINE PETERSEN
An independent NASA audit report released Aug. 13 sharply criticized plans for consolidating the nation's research aircraft to Southern California.
The audit by NASA Inspector General Roberta Gross found that the agency's claims of a money-saving maneuver are unjustified.
The NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Federal Airfield has the most to lose if the consolidation goes through, Rep. Anna Eshoo said. Nine NASA aircraft used to research ozone depletion, study crop diseases and fight major fires are currently stationed at Ames and are slated for consolidation.
The plan to move the nation's research aircraft out of Ames and five other federal air bases would cost the agency $11.3 billion, according to the audit. The consolidation is projected to save $218,049 annually, which would pay for the consolidation in 52 years.
But if interest rates are factored in, NASA would never recover its financial investment in aircraft consolidation, the audit said. Moreover, NASA has not adequately evaluated the effect that aircraft consolidation would likely have on program research, the audit said.
Despite the financial loss that the consolidation plan would entail, NASA appears unwilling to reevaluate its proposal, as the inspector general has suggested.
"NASA may have found life on Mars, but the inspector general has found no life in the space agency's claims of cost savings in its aircraft consolidation plan," Eshoo said.
Eshoo said the final IG audit report made it clear that moving research aircraft from NASA Ames and other facilities to Dryden Flight Research Center cannot be economically justified.
"By failing to respond to the IG's suggestion that it should reevaluate its decision, NASA apparently is willing to move forward with the plan no matter what it costs," she continued. "It's ... disturbing to find the space agency willing to squander taxpayer money at a time when NASA supposedly is scrambling to make ends meet."
NASA officials said they wanted to take time to analyze the report before commenting on the issue.
Sunnyvale Mayor Robin Parker said the city has been following the review of the aircraft consolidation plan closely because Ames is an important resource for Silicon Valley.
"We strongly agree with the [audit] report's conclusions," she said.
NASA has been looking at ways to reduce costs and improve efficiency, while at the same time maintaining its research capabilites. This effort has been driven by recent budget cuts, which are expected to continue.
"Not only would the proposed relocation negatively impact critical research programs at Ames, but in addition, flight research programs are an important element of the operations at Moffett Federal Airfield and related industry jobs," Parker said.
Parker added that she hopes NASA will choose to keep the aircraft at Ames, given their goal to conduct business efficiently while protecting their research projects.
NASA Administrator Dan Goldin announced in May 1995 his intention to follow through with recommendations made to him by a review team to transfer nearly all NASA aircraft from across the country to Dryden. In September 1995, Eshoo called for an independent investigation into NASA's plan to consolidate these aircraft at Dryden from NASA Ames and other research centers.
According to the report, NASA did not factor in several expenses associated with its consolidation plan, including:
* enough money to build a $590,000 simulator at Ames for systems development to repoace a UH-60 helicopter sent to Dryden
* as much as $990,000 for re-creating at Dryden the helicopter telemetry and radar acquisition capabilities currently associated with Ames' Western Aeronautical Test Range;
* $2 million in nonrecurring and $1.2 million in recurring costs for additional travel; and
* $3.1 million in nonrecurring lost research costs and $1 million in recurring lost research costs.
The 70-page report of the NASA inspector general is available from Eshoo spokesman Lewis Roth at (202) 225-8104.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, August 21, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.