Boeing space ace bullish on business.

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THE business community holds the key to making space travel commonplace in our lifetimes, according to John "Mike" Lounge, Director of Business Development for Boeing Co.'s Space Exploration Systems.

"The biggest obstacle fight now isn't technology," said Lounge, who was attending the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space 2007 Conference & Exposition in Long Beach last week. "It's investment."

Lounge said it would not be easy getting business on board NASA's Constellation Program, which he's working on, and others like it. The program's aim is to find ways to transport humans and cargo to the moon, the International Space Station and eventually, Mars.

"The last time we were looking at a 'final frontier' sort of situation in this country was the era of the railroad. Business got involved only when the government cut some sweetheart deals, which basically gave the railroads access to thousands and thousands of miles. That isn't likely to happen today."

It will take someone or some business willing to bet big on success in space, and that will tricky given how risk-averse most major corporate boards are today, Lounge said.

"It's going to take real leadership, in government as well as in business," said Lounge, a former astronaut who made three space shuttle trips, including one on Discovery in 1988, the first after the Challenger tragedy.

"My hope is that we're able to put together a program that excites this generation as much as the programs 50 years ago inspired me."

Well-Schooled

L.A.'s Marlborough School has received a $13.5 million donation from billionaire philanthropist Charles Munger and his wife, Nancy, who graduated from the young women's secondary school in 1941 and is a past trustee and board president.

"The facilities need to be brought up to date and on-site parking is a necessity for the safety of the girls," said Mrs. Munger. The gift is the largest ever received by the school.

Charles Munger is founder of the law firm Munger, Tolles and Olson and is vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Another philanthropist with a Berkshire Hathaway link, Barbara Dodd Anderson, made headlines last week by giving Pennsylvania's George School $128.5 million, believed to be the largest gift ever to a private school. Dodd's late father, David, was billionaire Warren Buffett's professor and friend and an early investor in Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

Stock Juiced?

Is any publicity good publicity? It appears to be so for L.A. denim manufacturer True Religion Inc. The company's stock has gone up $1.25, or 8 percent, since O.J. Simpson was filmed and photographed being taken to jail handcuffed and wearing a pair of jeans with True Religion's logo prominently visible. The overall market was up last week, of course, but still ...

Todd Cunningham is the assistant managing editor of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [e-mail]