NASA has invited the US Air Force to take over its tracking station at Cooper's Island.

The possible change, which is still being negotiated, is part of ongoing budget-cutting and reorganising efforts by the National Aeronautic and Space Administration.

"My headquarters is trying to give the few remaining tracking stations away to other entities,'' NASA station director Mr. Steve Stompf told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

Increasingly, work the tracking station did was Air Force related, and talks were under way between NASA and the Air Force, he said.

Capt. Tim Bryan, Commanding Officer of the US Naval Air Station which takes in the NASA tracking station on Cooper's Island, said any continued American military presence that might result would be minimal. "What you might see is the replacement of the station director with an Air Force officer, and that would be it,'' Capt. Bryan said.

The Air Force would continue to use a contractor and any such change would be "absolutely transparent to Bermuda.'' NASA plans to remain once the American Base is returned to Bermuda on September 1. Government has promised public access to excellent beaches on Cooper's Island.

In February, the Gazette reported that cutbacks totalling $5 billion over five years outlined in US President Bill Clinton's budget would force NASA to cut its staff at Cooper's Island by 20 to 25 percent. Staff would likely be cut to 44 from 67, he said. Mr. Stompf said several dependents of departing US Navy personnel worked at the tracking station and he hoped most cuts could be made through attrition.

Yesterday, he said he did not expect jobs held by 11 Bermudians would be affected in the short term.

Mr. Stompf said the fact the Bermuda Government wanted to terminate the remainder of the 99-year American lease was also on his mind, though he did not want to comment further on negotiations between the US and Bermuda. The Americans want the existing lease to continue, while Bermuda wants a new deal struck for Cooper's Island.

Mr. Stompf said the tracking station would continue to fill its current role as "range safety support'' for launches from the East coast of the United States.

But new equipment that was more automated would allow it to do the job with fewer people.

In Washington on Friday, NASA administrator Mr. Daniel Goldin unveiled NASA's response to the budget cuts. The plan would cut about 28,000 civil service and contractor positions, trim and restructure the work force at each of 10 NASA centres, and start a process that eventually would put operation of the space shuttle under control of private industry.

The impact of that plan on Cooper's Island was difficult to measure, Mr.

Stompf said, and he was still working with his earlier estimate of a 20 to 25 percent cut.

"It's a pretty agressive approach that they're taking,'' Mr. Stompf said. Mr.

Goldin said NASA was "willing to do our part.'' But he warned that still deeper cuts called for by the Republicans would be going too far.

The new plan would reduce NASA's service corps from 21,060 to 17,500, about the size of the agency in 1961 when America was just beginning the space race.

It would also reduce NASA contractor jobs by about 25,000 positions nationwide.

Last week, Republicans in Congress said the agency should be trimmed even further and called for an $11-billion budget by 2002.

"If those cuts go through, all bets are off,'' Mr. Goldin said. "We will have to consider shutting down a combination of enterprises, programmes and centres.

Mr. Goldin said early plans are under way to pass operation of the space shuttle into the control of a single contractor. Details of this shift were still being worked out.

NASA has already downsized considerably in the US. It went from 25,000 employees a few years ago to 22,412 as of last December 1.

At its height, during the Apollo moon programme, NASA had 33,000 on its payroll.