WASHINGTON -- Boeing Space Exploration of Houston nabbed its
second major role on NASA's new astronaut launcher, winning a contract
potentially worth $800 million to build and outfit an avionics ring that will
control the Ares I rocket in flight.
Boeing beat
out Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. for the contract award, denying the
Boulder, Colo., company what would have been its first piece of NASA's planned
space shuttle replacement.
"Their
final proposals were very competitive and they point to the value of competition
in awarding these contracts," said Doug Cooke, NASA deputy associate
administrator for exploration systems.
The
avionics ring will be mounted to the Ares I upper
stage, which Boeing was selected to produce in August under a contract that
could be worth as much as $1.13 billion.
The value
of the initial Ares I avionics contract, which runs through 2016 and includes
one ground test unit, three flight test units and six production units, is $265.5
million. Additional work not included in the initial deal could be worth $420
million, and that plus $114 million for another 12 flight units could bring the
total value of the deal to $799.5 million, NASA said in a press release.
The Ares
I launcher features a core stage based on the space shuttle's solid-rocket
boosters and a liquid-fueled upper stage. The vehicle design is being led by
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., with major support
from Alliant TechSystems, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Boeing.
Lockheed
Martin Space Systems of Denver is responsible for building the Orion
Crew Exploration Vehicle that will launch atop Ares I, initially on
missions to the international space station and eventually, NASA hopes, to the
Moon.
The
avionics ring will be outfitted with all the electronics needed to provide
guidance, navigation and control for the entire Ares I rocket. Boeing's job is
to select the electronic components that best meet NASA's needs and install them
on the inside of a large metal ring that connects the Ares I upper stage and
the Orion capsule.
A total of
five teams submitted proposals this summer for the so-called Instrument Unit
Avionics contract. In early October, NASA quietly narrowed the field of
contenders to Boeing and Ball. The three firms passed over for further
consideration were BAE Systems, Honeywell Technology Solutions and Raytheon
Missile Systems. That decision surprised some aerospace analysts who saw those
three major avionics vendors as favorites heading into the competition.
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