I appreciate business reporter Stephanie Riegel's assessment of the report on NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility and its implications for the future of complex systems development in our state. I'm a retired Boeing systems engineer who spent the last 10 years of his Boeing career attempting to develop a complex computer system in New Orleans.

My assessment follows NASA's inspector general's observation that New Orleans and Louisiana are not appropriate places to develop high complexity and highly technical risk systems characteristic of space flight. I can only infer that in the past, Michoud was limited to developing simpler components with minimal software.

Nurturing a culture that can address highly complex systems is way beyond the qualifications of the best community colleges, such as Nunez, and probably beyond even UNO, LSU or Tulane. It appears that it's even beyond Boeing, the nation's only jet transport business. My view is that NASA should have adopted a more helpful posture toward Boeing's apparent weakness and partnered with the company rather than using a typical contractual posture.

As for Louisiana and its future in aerospace systems, I'm afraid it will require enlightened leadership beyond that of our current governor.

KONRAD C. KING

New Orleans