NASAS Inspector General announced it is initiating an audit to evaluate NASAs management of its Space Act Agreements with private companies, including, apparently its agreement with a company associated with Googles principals to house private jets at NASA Ames Moffett Field.

United State Senator Charles Grassley called for an investigation into the agreement after NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit raised questions about the deal and the use of the private planes in May.

Grassleys office says it believes that NASAs inspector general will review the deal between NASA and H2-11, a company owned by the principals at Google.

Under the agreement that started in 2007, H2-11 pays NASA rent to house more than a half dozen different, privately owned airplanes in hangar N2-11 located at Moffett Field.

Under the agreement NASA can use the planes to fly scientific missions for research. But a review of flight logs and records by NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit showed that of 1039 flights of planes matching those owned by H2-11 in and out of Moffett Field, only 155 flew any kind of scientific mission.

In fact, NASA conceded to its inspector general that 155 flights by H2-11 planes have flown scientific any kind of scientific missions. Thats less than 15% of documented flights by H2-11 planes in and out of Moffett Field.

Now in a memo to both House members and Senators on Capitol Hill, NASAs Office of Inspector General says it will examine NASAs management of its Space Act Agreements.

According to the memo obtained by NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit, the Inspector General will examine the following three issues:

The Inspector Generals probe into United States export control laws at NASA likely follows an investigation by the Justice Department and the FBI into whether national security information was shared by officials at NASA Ames with Chinese dignitaries visiting and working at Moffett Field.

No charges were filed in that case and Congressional sources on Capitol Hill say the probe was dropped by the US Justice Department. In a letter dated Feb. 26 to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden from U.S. Representative Frank Wolf, who as chairman of the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee oversees NASAs budget, the Republican congressman said he was "struck by the broad scope of the ( NASA Space Act Agreements)as well as the unusual nature of some of these agreements.Click Here to Read Letter

The rest is here:

Inspector General to Audit NASA Agreement