STAR WARS

Despite Michael Collins’ rather snide references to JPL’s budgets over the years (Book Review, July 16), JPL and Caltech have sought and received funds sufficient to their task. I can recall, for example, that during the early 1960s, when JPL’s funding requirements began to approach $330 million per annum , Caltech continued to receive as a management fee the rather modest sum of $1 million (or something like one-third of 1%) when other parent institutions typically charged the government from 3%-5%. How about having Bruce Murray review Michael Collins’ forthcoming book?

DAVID K. CARLISLE

LOS ANGELES