Boeing wins Ares I contract

Thursday, December 13, 2007

By SHELBY G. SPIRES

Times Aerospace Writer shelby.spires@htimes.com

Latest deal will bring 218 jobs to Huntsville

A NASA Ares I rocket Instrument Unit guidance contract expected to bring more than 200 jobs to Huntsville was awarded to Boeing Co. Wednesday. It is the last major piece of work to be contracted for the rocket expected to replace the space shuttle.

The full contract has a potential value of $799.5 million for 22 of the advanced guidance rings designed to put the Ares I rocket on course to Earth orbit, said Steve Cook, director of the Ares Projects Office at Marshall.

"This is truly an exciting day for us in the Ares program," Cook said during a conference at NASA headquarters in Washington. "With this we have issued almost $5 billion (in contracts) for the program over the past five months ... We are progressing and moving well past the paper design stage on Ares."

The Instrument Unit contract will provide work for 218 people in Huntsville and 48 more across the country. Boeing will have 100 support contractors working on the project, another 60 contractors from other companies will support the Marshall office, and 58 civil servants will work on the project at the space center, said Marshall spokeswoman Kim Newton.

In July, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne won a $1.2 billion contract to produce the J-2X engine that will power the Ares I upper stage. In August, ATK won a $1.8 billion contract for the solid-rocket-powered Ares I first stage.

Also in August, a team headed by Boeing Co. won a $514.7 million contract to build the Ares I upper stage. The Instrument Unit will be stacked on top of the Ares I upper stage.

Boeing plans to perform the bulk of the Instrument Unit design, test and management work in Huntsville and use the aerospace giant's large experience base in the Rocket City, a company executive said.

"We are ready to use Boeing's knowledge, processes and tools to NASA's advantage and are committed to bringing the best of Boeing and the best of industry to ensure success," Roger A. Krone, Boeing Network and Space Systems president, said in a statement. "We will apply proven practices and expertise from several Boeing programs, including EA-18G Growler (electronic warfare aircraft), Future Combat Systems and Ground-based Midcourse Defense, among others."

Boeing performs the bulk of its missile defense work in Huntsville, along with design and management work on the Future Combat Systems, a network of advanced weaponry expected to be deployed by U.S. Army units over the next decade.

The Instrument Unit will be assembled at the Marshall-managed Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. The space shuttle external fuel tank is assembled at the 27-acre plant.

For the NASA Instrument Unit, the initial contract will cover $295 million in work to build one development Instrument Unit, three flight test units and six operational flight units. Another 12 units could be ordered by NASA, bringing the full value of the contract to $799.5 million, NASA managers said.

The contract runs from December 2007 through December 2016. The first flight of the Ares I to the space station is expected about the end of 2014.

Boeing and NASA officials have said more work would come to Huntsville in relation to the Instrument Unit. The contract will rely heavily on local electronics companies to support work on the advanced avionics computers and electronic control systems in the Instrument Unit. This would follow the Saturn program model, which also saw Huntsville as the site for building that rocket's Instrument Unit.

Marshall's Danny Davis, manager of the Upper Stage Elements Office, said engineers would nail down the preliminary design of the Instrument Unit over the next year.

NASA is developing the Ares I rocket to loft the Orion crew capsule with up to six crew members to the International Space Station. It will replace the space shuttle, which is scheduled to be retired by the end of 2010, in the crew ferry role.

The Ares V rocket is being developed to put heavy payloads into space like a lunar lander. NASA plans to use both rockets for extended lunar missions now planned for around 2020.

Davis said the Instrument Unit design would allow contractors to easily improve the guidance stage as improvements are made to computers and electronics - a move that is meant to keep launch costs down and improve the capability of the rocket.

Cook said that flexibility would allow the Ares V heavy cargo rocket to be improved. "The fundamental job of Ares I and Ares V are very similar, especially" just after launch, Cook said. "Because we've built a process that can be upgraded over time, this work will evolve" faster.



Boeing wins Ares I contract Thursday, December 13, 2007 By SHELBY G. SPIRES Times Aerospace Writer shelby.spires@htimes.com Latest deal will bring 218 jobs to Huntsville A NASA Ares I rocket Instrument Unit guidance contract expected to bring more than 200 jobs to Huntsville was awarded to Boeing Co. Wednesday. It is the last major piece of work to be contracted for the rocket expected to replace the space shuttle. The full contract has a potential value of $799.5 million for 22 of the advanced guidance rings designed to put the Ares I rocket on course to Earth orbit, said Steve Cook, director of the Ares Projects Office at Marshall. "This is truly an exciting day for us in the Ares program," Cook said during a conference at NASA headquarters in Washington. "With this we have issued almost $5 billion (in contracts) for the program over the past five months ... We are progressing and moving well past the paper design stage on Ares." The Instrument Unit contract will provide work for 218 people in Huntsville and 48 more across the country. Boeing will have 100 support contractors working on the project, another 60 contractors from other companies will support the Marshall office, and 58 civil servants will work on the project at the space center, said Marshall spokeswoman Kim Newton. In July, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne won a $1.2 billion contract to produce the J-2X engine that will power the Ares I upper stage. In August, ATK won a $1.8 billion contract for the solid-rocket-powered Ares I first stage. Also in August, a team headed by Boeing Co. won a $514.7 million contract to build the Ares I upper stage. The Instrument Unit will be stacked on top of the Ares I upper stage. Boeing plans to perform the bulk of the Instrument Unit design, test and management work in Huntsville and use the aerospace giant's large experience base in the Rocket City, a company executive said. "We are ready to use Boeing's knowledge, processes and tools to NASA's advantage and are committed to bringing the best of Boeing and the best of industry to ensure success," Roger A. Krone, Boeing Network and Space Systems president, said in a statement. "We will apply proven practices and expertise from several Boeing programs, including EA-18G Growler (electronic warfare aircraft), Future Combat Systems and Ground-based Midcourse Defense, among others." Boeing performs the bulk of its missile defense work in Huntsville, along with design and management work on the Future Combat Systems, a network of advanced weaponry expected to be deployed by U.S. Army units over the next decade. The Instrument Unit will be assembled at the Marshall-managed Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. The space shuttle external fuel tank is assembled at the 27-acre plant. For the NASA Instrument Unit, the initial contract will cover $295 million in work to build one development Instrument Unit, three flight test units and six operational flight units. Another 12 units could be ordered by NASA, bringing the full value of the contract to $799.5 million, NASA managers said. The contract runs from December 2007 through December 2016. The first flight of the Ares I to the space station is expected about the end of 2014. Boeing and NASA officials have said more work would come to Huntsville in relation to the Instrument Unit. The contract will rely heavily on local electronics companies to support work on the advanced avionics computers and electronic control systems in the Instrument Unit. This would follow the Saturn program model, which also saw Huntsville as the site for building that rocket's Instrument Unit. Marshall's Danny Davis, manager of the Upper Stage Elements Office, said engineers would nail down the preliminary design of the Instrument Unit over the next year. NASA is developing the Ares I rocket to loft the Orion crew capsule with up to six crew members to the International Space Station. It will replace the space shuttle, which is scheduled to be retired by the end of 2010, in the crew ferry role. The Ares V rocket is being developed to put heavy payloads into space like a lunar lander. NASA plans to use both rockets for extended lunar missions now planned for around 2020. Davis said the Instrument Unit design would allow contractors to easily improve the guidance stage as improvements are made to computers and electronics - a move that is meant to keep launch costs down and improve the capability of the rocket. Cook said that flexibility would allow the Ares V heavy cargo rocket to be improved. "The fundamental job of Ares I and Ares V are very similar, especially" just after launch, Cook said. "Because we've built a process that can be upgraded over time, this work will evolve" faster. © 2007 The Huntsville Times © 2007 al.com All Rights Reserved.