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            During a press conference Monday morning in Juneau, House Majority Leader Alan Austerman, along with Representatives Bill Thomas and Anna Fairclough, spoke about the governor's $8-million appropriation request for the Alaska Aerospace Corporation.

            Austerman raised the specter of shutting down the state-owned enterprise if enough money to sustain it cannot be found.

-- (Aerospace 1           21 sec              "I'm a non-voting member of ... a working corporation.")

            Austerman called the $8-million dollar request "bridge funding," meant to hold over the corporation until it can secure new launch contracts. Currently it has none, but Austerman said the possibility is there:

-- (Aerospace 2           27 sec              "I know that the governor has been ... or not, I don't know.")

            Austerman did not say how he would vote on the $8-million request if it reaches the House floor, but Representative Fairclough, Vice-Chair of House Finance, said she would support it, at least for this year:

-- (Aerospace 3           34 sec              "From a financial perspective ... back to the state of Alaska.")

            In last year's State Capital Budget, the Alaska Aerospace Corporation received $4-million in general fund money for maintenance and operation of the Kodiak Launch Complex.

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