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Lockheed plan would assemble, test CEV in Florida LOCKHEED MARTIN NEWS RELEASE Posted: February 22, 2006 Lockheed Martin announced today, in partnership with the State of Florida, its plans to locate final assembly and testing of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) in Florida if the corporation is successful in its bid to provide the next generation crew transportation system for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Lockheed Martin, as prime contractor, is leading a team that is competing to help NASA develop and produce a CEV that will be safer, more reliable and more cost-effective than previous human spaceflight systems. As NASA retires its venerable Space Shuttle system in 2010, the new Crew Exploration Vehicle will carry forward the next generation of astronauts to Earth orbit, back to the moon and on to farther destinations. "We are extremely pleased and proud to partner with the State of Florida in support of NASA's CEV program. The point of final assembly and testing for each mission will be critical to the viability of NASA's CEV program and the ideal location to do that is here in Florida adjacent to the launch site," said John Karas, vice president of space exploration for Lockheed Martin. "Florida has an extremely talented existing workforce with the skills, experience, dedication and track record to meet the challenges and requirements of NASA's human spaceflight program. They also have facilities that can support the highly specialized work that the new Crew Exploration Vehicle will require. And co-location here in Florida with NASA's launch operations offers the greatest value at an overall affordable cost that is essential to the long-term success, safety, reliability and sustainability of NASA's CEV program," added Karas. In support of the State of Florida's extensive heritage in NASA's space flight endeavors and the state's strong interest in maintaining a key role in NASA's CEV program, Governor Jeb Bush has proposed incentives valued at $45.5 million for the CEV program to cover training, transportation infrastructure, facility improvements and equipment. "On behalf of the State of Florida, I am very pleased that Lockheed Martin has recognized our strong commitment to maintaining our space industry legacy," said Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings. "We are proud to partner with them by providing economic incentives to final assemble the Crew Exploration Vehicle right here at Kennedy Space Center, where space history begins and will continue for years to come." In trade studies, Lockheed Martin looked closely at the significant benefits of using facilities located in Florida for final assembly, integration and subsystem checkout, environmental acceptance testing, and Crew Module maintenance, for both the CEV Crew Module and Service Module. The final assembly and integration will be located in the O&C facility located on- site at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), a state-of-the-art facility that will be specifically configured to support CEV final assembly and acceptance testing. Locating the final assembly and integration operations in proximity with the launch operations will provide much greater efficiency in the flow of testing and operations leading to launch. In addition, the synergies gained by utilizing KSC for assembly and integration will provide NASA with greater operational flexibility during the final integration of the CEV with the Crew Launch Vehicle. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company is one of the major operating units of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Space Systems designs, develops, tests, manufactures and operates a variety of advanced technology systems for military, civil and commercial customers. Chief products include a full range of space launch systems, including heavy-lift capability, ground systems, remote sensing and communications satellites for commercial and government customers, advanced space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft, fleet ballistic missiles and missile defense systems. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion. |
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The seventh flight of the space shuttle is remembered for breaking the gender barrier for U.S. spaceflight. Sally Ride flew into space and the history books with her historic June 1983 mission, becoming America's first woman astronaut. STS-7 also launched a pair of commercial communications spacecraft, then deployed a small platform fitted with experiments and camera package that captured iconic pictures of Challenger flying above the blue Earth and black void of space. The crew members narrate highlights from the mission in this post-flight film presentation.
Commander Steve Lindsey and his crew, the astronauts set to fly the second post-Columbia test flight, hold an informal news conference with reporters at Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 17. The crew is in Florida to examine hardware and equipment that will be carried on the STS-121 flight of shuttle Discovery.
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin and his No. 2, Shana Dale, appear before the House Science Committee on Feb. 16 to defend President Bush's proposed 2007 budget for the space agency. Congressmen grill Griffin and Dale about the budget's plans to cut funding for some science programs.
With the four test flights complete, NASA declared the space shuttle a fully operational program. The crews were expanded, commercial payloads were welcomed aboard and the mission plans became much more hectic. This new era began with Columbia's STS-5 flight that launched the ANIK-C3 and SBS-C commercial communications satellites from the shuttle's payload bay. Commander Vance Brand, pilot Bob Overmyer and mission specialists Joe Allen and Bill Lenoir narrate highlights from their November 1982 mission in this post-flight presentation.
The developmental test flights of the space shuttle concluded with Columbia's STS-4 mission. Commander Ken Mattingly and pilot Henry Hartsfield spent a week in space examining orbiter systems and running science experiments. The 1982 flight ended on the Fourth of July with President Reagan at the landing site to witness Columbia's return and the new orbiter Challenger leaving for Kennedy Space Center. Watch this STS-4 post-flight crew presentation film.
Columbia's STS-3 mission is best remembered in the history books for its conclusion -- the first and so far only landing at the picturesque Northrup Strip at White Sands, New Mexico. In this post-flight presentation film, the crew describes the highlights of the March 1982 mission and shows some of the fun they had in orbit. The commander also tells how he accidentally "popped a wheelie" before bringing the nose gear down to the runway surface.
Seven months after the successful maiden voyage of space shuttle Columbia, astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly took the orbiter back into space on mission STS-2. The November 12, 1981 launch demonstrated that the space shuttle was the world's first reusable manned spacecraft. Although their mission would be cut short, Engle and Truly performed the first tests of the shuttle's Canadian-made robotic arm. The crew tells the story of the mission in this post-flight presentation.