3 firms join forces to vie for Ares work

Three aerospace companies opened a program office Tuesday to compete for work on NASA's Ares I crew rocket.

ATK Launch Systems, Lockheed Martin Inc. and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne have formed Team Ares and said they will bid to develop the upper stage of the Ares I rocket.

The office is headed by former space shuttle astronaut Jim Halsell, who retired from NASA in November to take over as ATK's vice president and program manager for Ares upper-stage work.

"Huntsville really is the center of the universe when it comes to NASA's propulsion efforts, and we want to be near our customer - Marshall Space Flight Center - who is managing the Ares program," Halsell said.

The three companies could provide efficiency in management and design on the second-stage development by working together instead of as separate contractors, said Halsell, a veteran of five shuttle flights and a former Air Force fighter pilot.

Halsell said each company brings unique skills to the table, "with Lockheed Martin having experience in manufacturing large vehicle structures like the shuttle's external tank, and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne having decades of experience designing and building engines."

"At ATK, we have experience in integration and management and plan to bring our experience working on some of the" upper-stage systems that will separate it from the Orion crew capsule during launch, Halsell said.

During the Ares I upper-stage proposal process, Halsell said, about 80 people will work in the office. If the team is awarded a contract, "then that figure could well exceed 100 people," he said.

"We don't know yet because all the details of the proposal have not been nailed down."

Ares I will use a solid rocket booster as a first stage and liquid rocket fuel in the second stage. NASA plans for the rocket to boost the Orion crew capsule to the International Space Station and for trips to the moon.

"That upper stage really is a key element of not only the vehicle's mission, but it also has to tie everything together," Halsell said. "It has to take the stress, or loads, of launch and support the crew vehicle which rests on top of it."