Commercialization of the technology is still 10 to 15 years away, Sacco says, but the idea is promising. Hydrogen could revolutionize the economy, moving the world away from fossil fuel and virtually eliminating greenhouse gases. When Northeastern lured Sacco to Boston from Worcester Polytechniccq Institute last year, it put him in charge of a new engineering center that makes Northeastern one of 10 NASA-designated commercial space gateways. Yale University, which specializes in telemedicine, is the only other gateway in New England. Science experiments involving advanced materials have to go through Northeastern to make it into orbit.
Space has a way of inspiring ideas.
Sacco would do anything to go back, even fly on Russia's rattle-trap Mir space station. But he knows he can't expect another trip right away, because there are too many others ahead of him. When he was in orbit two years ago, he took a moment to turn off the lights on the shuttle's flight deck and contemplate the stars while listening to Dan Fogelberg's Phoenix album. Now, he says, he can play the same music on his car stereo and transport himself back into space. Things are different in space.