NASA Ames Facts:

NASA Ames Research Center is located at Moffett Field, California in the heart of "Silicon Valley". Ames was founded December 20, 1939 as an aircraft research laboratory by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and in 1958 became part of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Ames specializes in research geared toward creating new knowledge and new technologies that span the spectrum of NASA interests.

For more information, visit
NASA Ames Research Center home page.

ALLISON FANNY ZUNIGA NASA Ames Research Center

Aerospace Engineer/Project Manager
NASA Ames Project Management Office

Ms. Allison F. Zuniga is an aerospace engineer and project manager at NASA Ames Research Center. She is currently developing a new project, Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS), to support NASA's new Vision for Space Exploration.

Ms. Zuniga is using her project management and engineering skills to put the plans, guidelines, and documentation in place to initiate a new space commercialization project (COTS) for the Agency. The objective of the COTS project is to develop new commercially-based space transportation systems that can deliver cargo and humans to low-earth orbit. If successful, these new commercial space vehicles will be able to replace the Space Shuttle after 2010 and service the International Space Station at a lower, more competitive cost to NASA. Also, with the advent of these new commercial space vehicles, it is hoped that new human space markets will flourish, like Space Tourism, Space Laboratories and Space Entertainment.

I am very excited to be working on this new project. It is very rewarding to think that this new work will be contributing to a new generation of space vehicles that will make space flight less expensive, safer and accessible to everyone.

Her profile and archived web chats are also featured on NASA Quest website.

JANUARY 2006