Raytheon seeks rocket work

Friday, May 11, 2007

By SHELBY G. SPIRES

Times Aerospace Writer shelby.spires@htimes.com

Local office would build instrument unit ring for Ares

Raytheon Co. officials are looking to use their Huntsville engineering and management experience with missile defense to win a NASA rocket guidance contract.

Raytheon is pursuing the Ares I Instrument Unit Avionics ring contract. Similar to the Apollo-era Saturn program guidance ring, the instrument unit will be a separate stage between the upper stage and the Orion crew vehicle.

"The same quality and mission safety assurance that NASA needs for human spaceflight is the same type of standards missile defense needs to save Seattle," said Mike Booen, Raytheon vice president for missile defense and direct-energy weapons in Tucson, Ariz. "We have that expertise already with our missile defense work and plan to use our experienced people in Huntsville for this program."

Marshall manages the Ares rocket program, which will be used to transport crews to the International Space Station and possibly to the moon. Companies have until the first week in June to submit a proposal for instrument unit work, said Kim Newton, a Marshall spokeswoman. The final contract will be awarded in November, she said.

Booen could not speculate on how many new jobs would come to Huntsville if Raytheon wins the contract. The company would make parts of the ring in Huntsville, he said, and parts in other Raytheon locations around the nation.

"We expect that we will use existing people, and we would hire new people as needed," he said, "but we are in the middle of the proposal right now and don't want to discuss details that our competition might find useful."

Raytheon now employs 603 in Huntsville.

"This ring is the only part of the Ares program Raytheon is bidding on, and that will allow us to put our best, our A-team, on the project," Booen said.

In Huntsville, Raytheon works on the kill vehicle for the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse missile defense program, the Kinetic Energy Interceptor program and the Navy's Standard Missile.

"We can do this job here," said Joe Wasley, director of Raytheon's Huntsville operations. "Being this close to Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA's experience, we would have people working at Marshall, side by side with their NASA counterparts.

"We feel we have the expertise to take NASA's vision for the Ares instrument ring and help get America back to the moon."

This week, Raytheon teams have been meeting with Marshall managers discussing a full-size mock-up of the instrument unit and Raytheon's ability to build the ring, Booen said.

The mock-up is a "hands-on planning tool," said Conan Davis, a chief engineer with Raytheon in Tucson. "It allows us to show NASA where we can fasten avionics and hardware to the side of the ring."

Davis said having an understanding of where the complex computers will go allows the design teams "to cut down on the amount of hardware, which will save weight and reduce the risk of a piece coming off and impacting" the rocket fuel tank below it.

To reduce risks to the Orion crew, Raytheon hired former astronaut Don McMonagle to lead the company's pursuit of the Ares I Instrument Unit Avionics contract. Along with his career as a test pilot in the Air Force, McMonagle served as a crew member on three space shuttle missions and commanded a November 1994 Atlantis shuttle mission.

McMonagle said a goal for the contract would be to develop a manufacturing process that NASA could rely on "and be able to use throughout the Ares program."

"Bottom line is that we will use our expertise with missile defense to reduce any risk in this program," he said. "That's the safety NASA looks for in human spaceflight, and it is what Raytheon has been doing for years."



Raytheon seeks rocket work Friday, May 11, 2007 By SHELBY G. SPIRES Times Aerospace Writer shelby.spires@htimes.com Local office would build instrument unit ring for Ares Raytheon Co. officials are looking to use their Huntsville engineering and management experience with missile defense to win a NASA rocket guidance contract. Raytheon is pursuing the Ares I Instrument Unit Avionics ring contract. Similar to the Apollo-era Saturn program guidance ring, the instrument unit will be a separate stage between the upper stage and the Orion crew vehicle. "The same quality and mission safety assurance that NASA needs for human spaceflight is the same type of standards missile defense needs to save Seattle," said Mike Booen, Raytheon vice president for missile defense and direct-energy weapons in Tucson, Ariz. "We have that expertise already with our missile defense work and plan to use our experienced people in Huntsville for this program." Marshall manages the Ares rocket program, which will be used to transport crews to the International Space Station and possibly to the moon. Companies have until the first week in June to submit a proposal for instrument unit work, said Kim Newton, a Marshall spokeswoman. The final contract will be awarded in November, she said. Booen could not speculate on how many new jobs would come to Huntsville if Raytheon wins the contract. The company would make parts of the ring in Huntsville, he said, and parts in other Raytheon locations around the nation. "We expect that we will use existing people, and we would hire new people as needed," he said, "but we are in the middle of the proposal right now and don't want to discuss details that our competition might find useful." Raytheon now employs 603 in Huntsville. "This ring is the only part of the Ares program Raytheon is bidding on, and that will allow us to put our best, our A-team, on the project," Booen said. In Huntsville, Raytheon works on the kill vehicle for the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse missile defense program, the Kinetic Energy Interceptor program and the Navy's Standard Missile. "We can do this job here," said Joe Wasley, director of Raytheon's Huntsville operations. "Being this close to Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA's experience, we would have people working at Marshall, side by side with their NASA counterparts. "We feel we have the expertise to take NASA's vision for the Ares instrument ring and help get America back to the moon." This week, Raytheon teams have been meeting with Marshall managers discussing a full-size mock-up of the instrument unit and Raytheon's ability to build the ring, Booen said. The mock-up is a "hands-on planning tool," said Conan Davis, a chief engineer with Raytheon in Tucson. "It allows us to show NASA where we can fasten avionics and hardware to the side of the ring." Davis said having an understanding of where the complex computers will go allows the design teams "to cut down on the amount of hardware, which will save weight and reduce the risk of a piece coming off and impacting" the rocket fuel tank below it. To reduce risks to the Orion crew, Raytheon hired former astronaut Don McMonagle to lead the company's pursuit of the Ares I Instrument Unit Avionics contract. Along with his career as a test pilot in the Air Force, McMonagle served as a crew member on three space shuttle missions and commanded a November 1994 Atlantis shuttle mission. McMonagle said a goal for the contract would be to develop a manufacturing process that NASA could rely on "and be able to use throughout the Ares program." "Bottom line is that we will use our expertise with missile defense to reduce any risk in this program," he said. "That's the safety NASA looks for in human spaceflight, and it is what Raytheon has been doing for years." © 2007 The Huntsville Times © 2007 al.com All Rights Reserved.