Monthly Archives: April 2012

Super Micro Computer, Inc. Announces 3rd Quarter 2012 Financial Results

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SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI - News), a leader in application optimized, high performance server solutions, today announced third quarter fiscal 2012 financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2012.

Fiscal 3rd Quarter Highlights

Net sales for the third quarter ended March 31, 2012 totaled $240.2 million, down 3.9% from $249.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012. No customer accounted for more than 10% of net sales during the quarter ended March 31, 2012.

Net income for the third quarter of fiscal year 2012 was $7.1 million or $0.16 per diluted share, a decrease of 33.8% from the net income of $10.7 million, or $0.25 per diluted share in the same period a year ago. Included in net income for the quarter is $2.6 million of stock-based compensation expense (pre-tax). Excluding this item and the related tax effect, non-GAAP net income for the third quarter was $8.8 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $12.3 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, in the same quarter of the prior year. On a sequential basis, non-GAAP net income decreased from the second quarter of fiscal year 2012 by $2.4 million or $0.06 per diluted share.

Gross margin for the third quarter was 17.0% compared to 16.2% in the same period a year ago. Non-GAAP gross margin for the third quarter was 17.0% compared to 16.2% in the same period a year ago. Non-GAAP gross margin was 17.1% for the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.

The Company's cash and cash equivalents and short and long term investments at March 31, 2012 were $92.2 million compared to $75.2 million at June 30, 2011. Free cash flow in the nine months ended March 31, 2012 was $0.2 million.

Business Outlook & Management Commentary

The Company expects net sales of $280 million to $310 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 ending June 30, 2012. The Company expects non-GAAP earnings per diluted share of approximately $0.27 to $0.32 for the fourth quarter.

We are pleased that we grew revenue year over year in a seasonally soft quarter despite the headwinds of the hard drive shortage and pause in purchasing leading up the Sandy Bridge technology transition. We saw improvement in our system sales to 48.5% and as a result our gross margins held steady," said Charles Liang, CEO of Supermicro. "With the worst of the hard drive shortage behind us and the recent strong launch of Sandy Bridge we are looking forward to a much stronger growth in the remainder of calendar 2012. Our R&D investment while higher than expected in the new Sandy Bridge generation product lines has well positioned us ahead of competition with the broadest product offering in the industry. A new server refresh cycle is beginning and with our new product architectures and our data center optimized product such as the Fat Twin leading the server industrys innovation, we expect our upcoming performance to be strong."

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Super Micro Computer, Inc. Announces 3rd Quarter 2012 Financial Results

Havre de Grace injured, retired

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Havre de Grace injured, retired

"It is with great disappointment that I have to announce that Havre de Grace has been retired," Porter said. "After her work (Sunday) at Churchill, a little heat was noted in her right front ankle. Still there (Monday) morning, Grace was sent to Rood & Riddle (equine clinic in Lexington, Kentucky) to be seen by Dr. Larry Bramlage. Unfortunately, we didn't get a positive prognosis for continuing her racing career."

The veterinary report provided on the Fox Hill Farms website shows x-rays of Havre de Grace's injured lateral ligament. Dr. Bramlage described the prognosis as "unfavorable, for complete resolution" in the report.

"This is just one of many ligaments that support the fetlock by attaching to the base of the sesamoid," Bramlage stated. "Unfortunately with one injured the remaining ligaments become progressively more vulnerable, and they would sequentially become injured if we trained on. These are slow healing and are prone to re-occur once injured the first time.

"In a lesser horse we would rehabilitate, probably using stem cell therapy, but it takes a year to fully resolve, and it usually reduces a horse's quality. In her instance this is not acceptable, and so we should probably stop her race career.

"She needs 60 days of stall rest and hand walking before turning out. She needs no special therapy if we are not going to train again as the remaining ligaments are intact because this was identified so early in the course of the problem. She will be fine as a broodmare."

A daughter of 2005 Horse of the Year Saint Liam, Havre de Grace was prepping for the Grade 2 La Troienne on May 4 at the time of her retirement.

Havre de Grace began her career with trainer Tony Dutrow and raced twice as a juvenile at Delaware Park, finishing third in her debut and then winning a maiden special weight at one mile and 70 yards. Both races were originally scheduled for the turf.

Havre de Grace ran second by narrow margins in her first three outings as a sophomore in 2010, including a neck loss in the Go for Wand at Delaware and a nose defeat to Blind Luck in the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks. Havre de Grace and Blind Luck would meet five more times in what would become one of the closest and intense rivalries in modern times.

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Havre de Grace injured, retired

Starr Foundation Continues Support for Stem Cell Research in New York with $50 Million Gift

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Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative Pursues Cutting-Edge Stem Cell Research and Therapies

Newswise NEW YORK (April 23, 2012) -- The Starr Foundation is continuing its historic commitment to stem cell research with a $50 million gift in support of the Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative (Tri-SCI), which was established through a generous grant from the Foundation in 2005. The new gift, awarded to the original Tri-SCI members -- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University and Weill Cornell Medical College, all in New York City -- will support and enhance collaborative, pioneering stem cell research at the three adjacent Manhattan campuses.

With support from The Starr Foundation, Tri-SCI laboratories are investigating the properties of embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to differentiate into any cell type in the body, and adult stem cells, which are found in various tissues and can give rise to specific cell types. These studies are opening new avenues for understanding a range of health conditions, including developmental disorders, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. The knowledge gained through this research is also laying the groundwork for the design of regenerative therapies to replenish tissues lost to illness or injury.

Under the Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative, investigators work across institutional and disciplinary boundaries to advance scientific understanding in a rapidly expanding field of biomedicine. The Tri-SCI funds technology development, seminars and symposia to foster intellectual exchange, and fellowships to train future leaders in stem cell research.

"Stem cell research has undergone a remarkable expansion and transformation in the seven years since this initiative was launched," says Maurice R. Greenberg, chairman of The Starr Foundation's Board of Directors. "There are many exciting developments on the horizon, and I am delighted that The Starr Foundation can renew its support of this important collaborative effort at such a promising time."

Based in New York City, the Foundation has long supported medical research, health care, human needs and educational programs in New York City, as well as cultural institutions and public policy projects relating to international relations. Of the nearly three billion dollars in grants made by the Foundation since 1955, more than half has gone to New York-based institutions.

"The goals of the Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative are truly ambitious, and only a collaborative venture of this magnitude could provide the resources and expertise needed to achieve them," said Craig Thompson, MD, President and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. "All of us at Memorial Sloan-Kettering are deeply grateful to The Starr Foundation for its incredible vision and generosity in supporting this vital area of research."

"We deeply appreciate The Starr Foundation's generosity and commitment to excellence in biomedical research. The Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative will enable our scientists to continue their pursuit of bold new ideas that will better human health," says Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College.

"To realize the full promise of stem cells in regenerative medicine, we need to understand the molecular mechanisms that determine a stem cell's potential to develop into many types of functional cells in the body," says Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne, president of The Rockefeller University. "As the climate for federal funding of stem cell research remains uncertain, we are grateful to The Starr Foundation for its continued commitment to supporting both existing and exciting new collaborative efforts by stem cell researchers at our three institutions."

Research Highlights from the Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative

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Starr Foundation Continues Support for Stem Cell Research in New York with $50 Million Gift

Cryo-Save Hires Stem Cell Expert in the Flagship Lab in Niel, Belgium

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ZUTPHEN, the Netherlands, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

In line with its continuous efforts to improve internal stem cell procedures, Cryo-Save proudly announces the appointment of the highly knowledgeable stem cell expert Dr. Marcin Jurga. Dr. Jurga will supervise new process validation at the Cryo-Save labs and study new processing techniques for umbilical cord blood, cord tissue and fat tissue, to ensure quality and use of the highest technology available on the market.

Marcin Jurga is specialized in adult stem cells biology, neuroscience and tissue engineering. His field of interest focuses on developing new methods for adult stem cell applications in in-vitro toxicology and regenerative medicine. Part of his validation study and internal research at Cryo-Save includes studies on fresh and frozen cells isolated from fat tissue and cord tissue, to explain the quality of these and their ability for extensive growth in vitro and multilineage differentiation.

"Cryo-Save is truly committed to the advancement of stem cell therapy. Storing stem cells is utterly important and our core business, but we are also committed to increasing the potential use of these stem cells and building the tools needed to tackle un-met medical needs with stem cells", said Arnoud Van Tulder, CEO of Cryo-Save.

Dr. Jurga is an experienced stem cell researcher with broad international experience; he was team leader and senior researcher at the Cell Therapy Research Institute in Lyon, France and previously completed a post doc at the Centre for Life, Newcastle University in the UK. He got Ph.D. degree in Poland, at the Mossakowski Medical Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. In May, Dr. Jurga is also planning to get a habilitation degree at Lyon 1 Claude-Bernard University in France. The habilitation thesis entitled: "Stem Cell Therapy and Neutral Tissue Engineering in Regeneration of Central Nervous System".

Cryo-Save, the leading international family stem cell bank, stores more than 200,000 samples from umbilical cord blood, cord tissue and adipose tissue. There are already many diseases treatable by the use of stem cells, and the number of treatments will only increase. Driven by its international business strategy, Cryo-Save is now represented in over 40 countries on four continents, with ultra-modern processing and storage facilities in the United States, Belgium, Germany, Dubai, India, South Africa and France (validation in progress).

Cryo-Save: http://www.cryo-save.com/group

Cryo-Save Group N.V.

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Sue Ann Joyner, composer known for her spirituality, dies

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Guestbook: Offer condolences to friends and family

Sue Ann Joyner, 73, of El Paso, died Monday after a long bout with cancer.

"She died around 4 p.m. on Monday after falling asleep," son Todd Joyner said. "She had just started to receive hospice care at home."

Joyner was a composer of musical dramas who developed projects with Christian themes, and she was known throughout the community for her dramas based on the Bible.

She recently completed an audiobook in collaboration with Joe Cueto, of El Adobe Productions Studios, titled "Understanding Revelation Prophecy in 98 Minutes."

"I knew Sue for about 30 years. She was a theologian, writer and author," Cueto said. "This is very sad for me because she had just finished the project. She wanted to get started on the next one, 'The Jerusalem Affair,' based on the Bible book of Acts."

"Beyond her creativity," said Cueto, who's done arrangements for Mexican pop idol Juan Gabriel, "Sue epitomized what Jesus Christ would want us all to be like."

Joyner also created a musical drama titled "Patmos," from the book of Revelation, which many churches have produced. She also wrote the screenplay "Stephanie" about ritual abuse.

She was co-founder of the former WATCH, an organization that helped people who were traumatized

El Paso businessman J.O. Stewart, who also knew Joyner, said, "Sue was a remarkably creative person, musically and conceptually, in production and drama. Her death is a loss to the community. She was greatly gifted in music and Christian expression."

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"God Spot" in the Brain Does Not Exist

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By Brad Fischer - Study shows religious participation and spirituality processed in different cerebral regions

We have found a neuropsychological basis for spirituality, but its not isolated to one specific area of the brain, said Brick Johnstone, professor of health psychology in the School of Health Professions. Spirituality is a much more dynamic concept that uses many parts of the brain. Certain parts of the brain play more predominant roles, but they all work together to facilitate individuals spiritual experiences.

In the most recent study, Johnstone studied 20 people with traumatic brain injuries affecting the right parietal lobe, the area of the brain situated a few inches above the right ear. He surveyed participants on characteristics of spirituality, such as how close they felt to a higher power and if they felt their lives were part of a divine plan. He found that the participants with more significant injury to their right parietal lobe showed an increased feeling of closeness to a higher power.

Neuropsychology researchers consistently have shown that impairment on the right side of the brain decreases ones focus on the self, Johnstone said. Since our research shows that people with this impairment are more spiritual, this suggests spiritual experiences are associated with a decreased focus on the self. This is consistent with many religious texts that suggest people should concentrate on the well-being of others rather than on themselves.

Johnstone says the right side of the brain is associated with self-orientation, whereas the left side is associated with how individuals relate to others. Although Johnstone studied people with brain injury, previous studies of Buddhist meditators and Franciscan nuns with normal brain function have shown that people can learn to minimize the functioning of the right side of their brains to increase their spiritual connections during meditation and prayer.

In addition, Johnstone measured the frequency of participants religious practices, such as how often they attended church or listened to religious programs. He measured activity in the frontal lobe and found a correlation between increased activity in this part of the brain and increased participation in religious practices.

This finding indicates that spiritual experiences are likely associated with different parts of the brain, Johnstone said.

The study, Right parietal lobe selflessness as the neuropsychological basis of spiritual transcendence, was published in the International Journal of the Psychology of Religion.

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"God Spot" in the Brain Does Not Exist

Essential Life Education Brief.flv – Video

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24-04-2012 02:29 Essential Life Education, by http://www.conscioushumanity.com, is the study of the Knowledge of the Self and of Relationship leading to Spiritual Enlightenment and Total Life Mastery. With its study, we move the world to peace. From birth till death you are bound to live with yourself and to relate with others. The Knowledge of the Self and how it relates with others is the critical education needed for you to attain inner peace and any height of success in any area of your social, spiritual, psychological, physical and financial life; and the lack of it is the cause of all internal conflicts that lead to large scale external conflicts and wars. The ELED course is designed to enable you discover why you and others are the way you are, why you do the things you do, and how to celebrate your unique differences. You will identify your inner persona that is seeking to fulfill Spiritual, Sociological, Psychological, Physiological and Financial quests, and be empowered to interact harmoniously through social and economic environments. True Enlightenment comes with inner awareness and free expression: knowing who and what you are, knowing how you know it and having the ability to freely express it, and Essential Life Education is your authentic fastest route to Enlightenment and Life Mastery. You are invited to participate in your own Freedom Now and join the movement by inviting your world to study it too. You never know what inner peace and happiness is until you study Essential Life ...

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Thailand's young nuns challenge convention

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BANGKOK (Reuters) - Beam Atchimapon is already three days late for the new school term in her native city, the Thai capital of Bangkok - but for a good cause. The nine-year-old is part of a small but growing group of Thai girls who choose to spend part of the school holiday as Buddhist nuns, down to having their heads shaven. The temporary ordination of young men has long been part of Thai ...

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Advocate for abolition of death penalty gives stirring talk at Guelph gathering

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GUELPH Faith must be lived and shared.

Spoken fervently and affectionately in a Louisianan twang, that was the alpha and omega idea of a stirring presentation by renowned author and spiritual guide Sister Helen Prejean Monday in the city.

Prejean is best known as the author of Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States, which became an Academy Award winning film starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon in 1995. Prejean is a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.

Prejean agreed to be the spiritual adviser to convicted killers Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie in the 1980s coming to realize that neither man was the sum total of the worst thing they had ever done, but were instead capable of faith, honesty and redemption. Both died on the electric chair.

Prejean said after witnessing Sonniers death in 1984 she first vomited, then she resolved to fight for the abolition of the death penalty in the United States. She has not relented from that commitment since.

Speaking to a gathering of hundreds of Wellington District Catholic School Board teachers and staff members assembled for the annual Spiritual Development Day, Prejeans eloquent and moving stories of the death row inmates she befriended, prayed with, and walked with to their deaths, garnered tears, laughs, gasps, and a standing ovation.

Prejean, 73, is a nun, devoted to a life of spiritual service a life of living the example set by Jesus Christ. But for the first years of her life as a nun, she freely admitted, she was asleep spiritually, unmoved by grace, unmoved by the suffering of the poor and oppressed.

I was not awake, and when youre not awake, youre not awake, she said. We cannot enlighten ourselves, she said. We must be graced with enlightenment.

A person of faith, she said, is in a constant state of self-questioning, because faith is a moving, changing reality. And, she said jokingly, God is sneaky, sneaky, sneaky. There is no telling when the spark of grace will enter, or the path of service it will take you down.

What more could I do? How can I go deeper? How could I be happier? she said. There is all of this questioning of the spirit. Will I ever know Jesus, really know Him and live the Gospel of Jesus before I die?

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Advocate for abolition of death penalty gives stirring talk at Guelph gathering

The Space Station Sends Back Dazzling Home Movies — of Us

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A time-lapse video from the International Space Station provides further proof that we live on what might be the coolest planet of all

Its easy to forget about the International Space Station. Quick: How long has it been flying? How many people are aboard right now? How big is it? If your answer to any of these questions is, Theres an International Space Station? youre not alone.

But yes, there is. The first module was launched in 1998; there are currently six people aboard; and as for how big it is, try these metrics: it is well and trulyas big as a football field, fitting those dimensions almost perfectly. It has the same habitable volume as a 747 or a five-bedroom house, take your pick. It weighs 925,627 lb. (419,857 kg) or about the same as 320 automobiles. It takes 52 computers to keep the place running. Its electrical system is connected by eight miles (13 km) of wires, and you could cover the floor of the U.S. Senate three times over with its solar panels (and no, you wouldnt be the first person to suggest that that would be a very good idea).

(PHOTOS: Our Beautiful Planet: Images from Space by an Astronaut Photographer)

But never mind the numbers and consider instead the gorgeousness. The station orbits at an altitude topping out at 255 miles (410 km) and completes one circuit of the earth every 90 minutes. On those trips, it sees a lot of nights and a lot of days, a lot of lightning and a lot of auroras, a lot of lands spangled by the midnight lights of great cities or sunk in the darkness of poverty or emptiness.

From August to October in 2011, astronauts aboard the station shot time-lapse footage of what they see and now what the rest of us can see. Its a moving portrait of a bizarre and colorful world, populated by countless life forms and its exactly the kind of place we dream of when we go looking for exotic new planets. Its also what we call home.

MORE: Could Hackers Hijack the Space Station?

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SpaceX launch to space station on hold pending final tests

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Space Exploration Technologies says it will delay its first commercial cargo flight to the International Space Station by about a week to give engineers more time to complete testing and analysis.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The launch of a commercial cargo ship making its first flight to the International Space Station is expected to slip a week or so to give engineers more time to complete pre-flight testing and analysis, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, announced late today.

Launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a commercial Dragon cargo craft bound for the International Space Station is expected to be delayed from April 30 to around May 7 to allow more time for pre-flight testing and analysis.

The company had been aiming to launch its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo capsule on April 30. A second launch opportunity was available May 3.

Last week, NASA managers tentatively cleared the SpaceX rocket and capsule for launch pending completion of testing and a final review of open items and overnight Sunday, company founder and chief designer Elon Musk said in a Twitter posting: "Just completed the rocket rollout review at SpaceX HQ in California. Almost time to launch. Pucker factor increasing..."

But this afternoon, after a review of the Dragon systems, Musk tweeted: "Am pushing launch back approximately a week to do more testing on Dragon docking code. New date pending coordination with NASA."

Company spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham said in a later e-mail: "After reviewing our recent progress, it was clear that we needed more time to finish hardware-in-the-loop testing and properly review and follow up on all data. While it is still possible that we could launch on May 3, it would be wise to add a few more days of margin in case things take longer than expected. As a result, our launch is likely to be pushed back by one week, pending coordination with NASA."

With the SpaceX slip, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying a military communications satellite valued at more than $1 billion, originally scheduled for takeoff May 5, has been moved up to May 3. Following standard practice, the Air Force Eastern Range, which provides tracking and telemetry support for all rockets launched from Florida, will give ULA at least two days to get the rocket off the ground and possibly three.

Because of time needed to reconfigure range systems to support a different launch vehicle, May 7 appears to be the earliest available launch date for the SpaceX Falcon 9. Because of space station rendezvous requirements, SpaceX cannot launch on May 8 or 9. A second opportunity apparently would be available May 10.

But it is not yet clear whether NASA would press ahead for a launch on May 10 and a berthing three days later given Russian plans to launch a Soyuz spacecraft with three fresh station crew members on May 14 U.S. time.

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SpaceX delays its trip to space station

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space Exploration Technologies, a privately held firm founded and run by entrepreneur Elon Musk, is delaying its trial cargo run to the International Space Station, Musk announced Monday. "Am pushing launch back approximately a week to do more testing on Dragon docking code. New date pending coordination with NASA," Musk said in a Twitter post. The company ...

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SpaceX delays its trip to space station

Space: Virginia's final frontier for jobs

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Hank Silverberg, wtop.com

WASHINGTON - The arrival of space shuttle Discovery this month has spurred discussion about the end of the federally funded manned space program in the United States and the future of commercial space flight.

Now, Virginia has released a report on how the state can capitalize on that.

Virginia already boasts the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) and the Wallops Island Flight facilities, both of which are on the Eastern shore.

More than 9,000 Virginians work directly in space-related industries with another 19,000 people employed in supportive roles. The report says the state should actively try and recruit the workforce being laid off by NASA and should step up mentoring programs in schools for courses like science, technology, engineering and math.

Virginia's Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton says the state is already ahead of many other efforts to attract a space industry.

"We will have by the end of this year space flights or re-supply missions up to the International Space Station coming from Wallops Island," says Connaughton.

Currently, Virginia's biggest competition comes from Florida, home to both the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral.

Connaughton says Virginia can benefit from the thousands of retired military personnel who have experience in the aerospace industry, which contributes $7.6 billion to the annual economic output of the state.

The report also says the state needs to do more to market and promote the existing commercial space industry.

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Webb Telescope Flight Backplane Section Completed

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April 25, 2012

The center section of the backplane structure that will fly on NASAs James Webb Space Telescope has been completed, marking an important milestone in the telescopes hardware development. The backplane will support the telescopes beryllium mirrors, instruments, thermal control systems and other hardware throughout its mission.

Completing the center section of the backplane is an important step in completing the sophisticated telescope structure, said Lee Feinberg, optical telescope element manager for the Webb telescope at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. This fabrication success is the result of innovative engineering dating back to the technology demonstration phase of the program.

The center section, or primary mirror backplane support structure, will hold Webbs 18-segment, 21-foot-diameter primary mirror nearly motionless while the telescope peers into deep space. The center section is the first of the three sections of the backplane to be completed.

Measuring approximately 24 by 12 feet yet weighing only 500 pounds, the center section of the backplane meets unprecedented thermal stability requirements. The backplane holds the alignment of the telescopes optics through the rigors of launch and over a wide range of operating temperatures, which reach as cold as 406 degrees Fahrenheit. During science operations, the backplane precisely keeps the 18 primary mirror segments in place, permitting the mirrors to form a single, pristine shape needed to take sharp images.

The Northrop Grumman Corporation in Redondo Beach, Calif., and its teammate ATK in Magna, Utah, completed construction of the center section. Northrop Grumman is under contract to Goddard for the design and development of Webbs sunshield, telescope and spacecraft. ATK manufactured 1,781 composite parts of the center section using lightweight graphite materials and advanced manufacturing techniques.

Successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, the Webb telescope is the worlds next-generation space observatory and will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. It will observe the most distant objects in the universe, provide images of the very first galaxies ever formed and study planets around distant stars. The Webb telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

Image 1: Artists concept of the James Webb Space Telescope in orbit. Credit: NASA

Image 2: The center section of the James Webb Space Telescope flight backplane, or Primary Mirror Backplane Support Structure, at ATKs manufacturing facility in Magna, Utah. Credit: ATK

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High moral cost paid for manned space flight

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WASHINGTON As the 747 carrying the retired space shuttle Discovery circled the capital last week, my mind flashed back to the sole encounter I ever had as a reporter with the space program.

An editor at the old Buffalo Courier- Express assigned me to interview a fellow named Walter Dornberger, whom he described as a German space visionary who had fled from the Iron Curtain.

It was the late 1950s, and so-called refugees from Germany, like Wernher von Braun, who was guiding Americas struggling manned flight program, were in vogue.

They were refugees, all right; but as researchers who dug into the archives learned decades later, they fled not just the Soviet Union, but also the upcoming war crimes trials in Nuremberg.

The Dornberger interview was a venture by the public relations people at Buffalos Bell Aircraft, the World War II producer of warplanes in plants in Buffalo and Wheatfield.

They presented him as Dr. Dornberger, an engineer. Certainly not as Maj. Gen. Dornberger, a top artillery officer at the launching sites of rockets that terrorized London and Brussels, killing thousands of civilians.

Not long after my interview, which was a wooden flop, Dornbergers military record was gently broached. The PR people claimed he was nothing more than a professional soldier after all; not a war criminal. Bell made him a vice president and nominal head of research. But he was really hired as part of Bells attempts to get its hooks into the money being spent on the space race with Russia.

After Bell folded as a space company and Dornberger returned to Germany, researchers began to link him and von Braun to the infamous underground rocket factory called Dora in the German Hartz Mountains. Here, inmates from the concentration camps at Dachau, Flossenberg and Sachsenhausen were literally worked to death.

Gretchen Engle Schafft of American University, in The Public Memory of Mittelbau- Dora, quotes Hitler production chief Albert Speer calling conditions there barbarous. In all, more than 30,000 starved souls died in that place.

Dornberger was much more than a professional soldier, according to author Arch B. Taylor Jr. Dornberger was a personal aide to Hitler, the liaison between the Fuhrer and von Braun. In his book, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima and Beyond, Taylor reported that Dornberger and von Braun met with Hitler many times to lobby for money and more slave labor for Dora replacement recruits from France, Poland and Czechoslovakia, as well as the death camps. The two entertained Hitler with films of rocket launchings.

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High moral cost paid for manned space flight