Space Forum / Shuttle / February 2006

February 22, 2006

KSC to assemble CEV if Lockheed Martin wins

Contract not yet awarded for NASA's next spaceship

BY JOHN KELLY
FLORIDA TODAY

Lockheed Martin would assemble NASA's Crew Exploration Vehicle at the
Kennedy Space Center if the company wins the spaceship contract later
this year, company officials announced at a news conference this
afternoon.

Lockheed made its decision because of pre-existing facilities near the
launch site and a large, pre-existing workforce of space experts. The
work would initially involve 300-400 jobs, the company said.

The company, however, also said the state of Florida has put together
a "generous" package of economic development incentives. The state is
offering at least $45 million worth of incentives to pay for training
programs, transportation upgrades and facility renovation at the space
center. Funds must still be approved by state legislators.

Florida and Brevard County have been lobbying for months to lure the
CEV final assembly work to the Space Coast. Lockheed Martin would
manufacture the spaceships in pieces in other states and then ship
those components here for assembly and launch.

The final assembly and integration work is critical to Lockheed's
concept for operating the new fleet of spaceships. The first launch
carrying astronauts is targeted for no later than 2014.

Lockheed vice president for space exploration John Karas, speaking
before an assembled crowd of state and local economic development
officials and news media this afternoon, said that his company
conducted a thorough evaluation of possible assembly sites.

Florida won, in part, because of a workforce that has "the skills,
dedication and track record" in such projects, Karas said.

Lockheed Martin is battling the team of Northrop Grumman and Boeing
for the contract to build and operate the new ships, which are
envisioned to replace the space shuttles and carry astronauts to the
International Space Station, the moon and Mars.

NASA, which expects to pick a winning contractor this summer, wants
the new spaceships to be built, maintained and flown with fewer
workers than the shuttles require.

The 15,000 or so people who currently work at the space center could
shrink by one-third or more during the transition from the
shuttle-station era to the new moon program.

So Florida and local governments are trying to retain as many of those
space jobs as possible by getting as much of the new program as they
can based at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. That means not
just launch, but also assembly and manufacture of key hardware
components.

Lockheed said the number of jobs created should start between 300 and
400 people, and Karas speculated "that number has nowhere to go but
up" in the long term operation of the new fleet.

Karas estimated that number is about 25 to 30 percent of the total
jobs on the CEV program if Lockheed wins. He said that the company
plans to make announcements in other states in coming weeks about
where it will manufacture the spaceship parts and where most of the
engineering work will be done.

Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings, who was at the announcement, said that she and
the governor are not finished recruiting parts of NASA's new moon
program.

Jennings said the state is going after other elements of the project.
To name just one example, she said Florida is the best choice for
refurbishing the spacecraft between missions. Lockheed's Karas said
today that refurbishment and maintenance would be done at KSC.

"Of course, Lockheed Martin stil has to win," said U.S. Rep. David
Weldon, R-Indialantic, who represents a large part of Brevard County
in Congress.

Jennings said the state also offered incentive packages to the
competing team of Northrop Grumman and Boeing. The other team has not
identified a final assembly site yet.