=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2007/09/12/BUPRS4MHA.= DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, September 12, 2007 (SF Chronicle) Google founders pay NASA $1.3 million to land at Moffett Airfield Verne Kopytoff, Chronicle Staff Writer (09-12) 12:31 PDT MOUNTAIN VIEW -- Google Inc.'s founders will carry scientific equipment for NASA on their private Boeing 767 as part of a deal that grants them landing rights at Moffett Federal Airfield, near Mountain View, NASA and local officials said. The agreement gives Larry Page and Sergey Brin use of the former naval a= ir station, from which civilian aircraft are normally barred, in exchange for allowing the space agency to place instruments on board their planes for research into the Earth's atmosphere and beyond. NASA confirmed the contract on Monday, nearly a week after a 767-200 own= ed by Google's founders was first spotted at Moffett Field. The response appears to be aimed at placating local officials and residents who had raised concerns about noise from any new flights and who had asked NASA for additional information. NASA said in a statement that it doesn't have any information about the number of flights planned under the agreement. However, the airport's overall traffic will remain below 25,000 flights annually, as required by Moffett Field's environmental impact statement, the space agency said. The use of Moffett Field by private aircraft has long been a source of conflict with neighboring cities. Residents helped torpedo a plan to open the airstrip to commercial cargo planes in the mid-1990s because of concerns about noise. Nadine Levin, Mountain View's city manager, said that after a conversati= on with NASA staff, she remained concerned about noise and would like more details about the agreement with Google's founders. The two-year deal between NASA and H211 LLC, a California limited liability company that is controlled by Google's founders, went into effect Aug. 1 and calls for the duo to pay NASA $1.3 million annually, plus extra fees for utilities, fuel and parking. In an example of the cooperation with Google's founders, NASA said that Page and Brin had supplied two Gulfstream jets that took off from Moffett Field on Aug. 31 carrying scientists from NASA and the SETI Institute to observe and record data about the Aurigid meteor shower, including its brightness, its elemental composition and its penetration into the Earth's atmosphere. Viewing the event at high altitude offered a clearer view than on the ground. However, some flights by Google's founders may have no link to research.= A flight by their 767 from Moffett Field to Seville, Spain, last week, where Google was holding a sales conference, had no science component, NASA said. Not just anyone can use Moffett Field, although many of Silicon Valley's superrich may want to, given its convenient location and lightly used landing strip. NASA grants permission only to planes that are related to its research and mission. The airfield is used primarily by federal agencies, the military and government contractors. NASA emphasized that it has used aircraft in the past to study atmospher= ic chemistry, global climate change and ozone depletion in addition to wildfires and agriculture. The agreement with Google's founders is non-exclusive, meaning that the door is open to others with private aircraft who want to use Moffett Field and are willing to contribute to NASA's mission. The founders' interest in Moffett Field has long been suspected because = of Google's close ties to NASA and the proximity to Google's Mountain View headquarters. Two years ago, Google signed a high-profile deal with NASA Ames to collaborate on a number of projects, most of which have been described only vaguely, and to build up to 1 million square feet of office space. In addition to the landing rights, NASA acknowledged that it is negotiating to lease aircraft hangars at Moffett Field, although not Hangar One, the Depression-era hulk that once housed a dirigible and is visible for miles. The Chronicle previously reported that Google's founders are one of the parties with whom NASA has held talks. E-mail Verne Kopytoff at vkopytoff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --------------------= -------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2007 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".