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Space Forum / Shuttle / September 2007Boeing Selected to Build NASA's Upper Stage for Ares I
Boeing Selected to Build NASA's Upper Stage for Ares I ST. LOUIS, Aug. 28, 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded a NASA contract valued at approximately $514.7 million to produce the upper stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. This element provides the navigation, guidance, control and propulsion required for the ascent of the second-stage Ares I into low-Earth orbit. The Ares I launches the Orion crew exploration vehicle, which will be joined with other elements of NASA's Constellation program to help propel astronauts to the moon by 2020. "Boeing will apply its best practices in program management and Lean manufacturing principles from across the company to ensure that we produce the safest, lowest-cost and most reliable upper stage for NASA," said Roger A. Krone, president of Network and Space Systems, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. "The Boeing team has an experienced and highly skilled workforce that is ready to get started on this exciting new mission for our customer and our nation." Boeing will produce from two to six upper stages per year during regular production, depending on NASA requirements. The initial phase of the contract calls for several flight-test production units. If all options of the cost-plus performance contract are exercised through 2017, Boeing could produce as many as 23 upper stages. "The Boeing team is honored to be selected as NASA's Ares I Upper Stage production partner and to be part of the Constellation team," said Brewster Shaw, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space Exploration. "We have a proven team that is eager to help NASA and the nation write the next chapter in the history of human space exploration." Under the contract, Boeing will employ up to several hundred technical support personnel at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The Center has responsibility for the design of the Ares I, with Boeing providing production engineering support. Boeing also expects to employ up to several hundred production support personnel at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the upper stage will be assembled. "The Boeing team will be innovative in our production practices, gained from our extensive experience as the largest aerospace manufacturing company in the world," said Jim Chilton, vice president of Boeing Exploration Launch Systems and program manager of Ares I Upper Stage production.  Signature-------------- Jacques :-) www.spacepatches.nl > Boeing will produce from two to six upper stages per year during regular > production, depending on NASA requirements. The initial phase of the > contract calls for several flight-test production units. If all options of > the cost-plus performance contract are exercised through 2017, Boeing > could produce as many as 23 upper stages. This seems to confirm my belief that Ares I won't be flying very many times each year. Jeff Signature"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" - B. Franklin, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (1919) > Boeing Selected to Build NASA's Upper Stage for Ares I > ST. LOUIS, Aug. 28, 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded > a NASA contract valued at approximately $514.7 million to produce the > upper stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. This element provides the > navigation, guidance, control and propulsion required for the ascent of > the second-stage Ares I into low-Earth orbit. When Ron Paul gets elected in 2008, I would hope he would cancel the Boeing's contract. The last thing we need from NASA is another white elephant. Let Boeing spend their own $518 million dollars building their own upper stage, risking their own money to produce what NASA need to explore the Moon and Mars. Let Boeing compete in a "free" market with SpaceX or whoever else want to take product (cargo, people, ...) to orbit. Personally, without a highly regulated, really socialist monopoly market place that manned space flight currently is, I doubt Boeing could compete with SpaceX. I really hope SpaceX can maintain their own identity when dealing with NASA, and don't get sucked into the Boeing style contracting for NASA's monopoly. SpaceX will surely lose to Boeing in the status quo market place. A "free" manned space flight market, might even be good for Boeing too. SignatureCraig Fink Courtesy E-Mail Welcome @ WeBeGood@GMail.Com >> Boeing Selected to Build NASA's Upper Stage for Ares I >> ST. LOUIS, Aug. 28, 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > >A "free" manned space flight market, might even be good for Boeing too. Gads, can we please, please not turn this into a political forum. I left Sci.Space.History because of all of the interpersonal politics, and feel like I have found a home here. I would hate to see that go away. Jim in Houston. Contrary to popular opinion RN does not mean Real Nerd! Teddy Roosevelt's mother said: "Fill what is empty, empty what is full, and scratch where it itches" SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com >> Boeing Selected to Build NASA's Upper Stage for Ares I >> ST. LOUIS, Aug. 28, 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > A "free" manned space flight market, might even be good for Boeing too. Congress has the power of the purse, not the President. The President can't go around canceling contracts. I would think that someone that professes to hold libertarian views would appreciate that we live in a representative republic where government powers are supposed to be specifically enumerated and divided amongst three different branches. Or perhaps you simply would like to elect an emperor whom you believe holds views that align with your own. While I have high hopes for SpaceX you need to remember that they while they have a lot of good ideas and PowerPoint presentations they have put exactly 0 lbs into orbit to date. >>> Boeing Selected to Build NASA's Upper Stage for Ares I >>> ST. LOUIS, Aug. 28, 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > they have a lot of good ideas and PowerPoint presentations they have put > exactly 0 lbs into orbit to date. Yes, power of the purse. When I went to Washington on vacation and to help campaign for passage of a bill in congress, I took in a Senate Committee Meeting. I believe it was a Committee chaired by John McCain, he described what he thought his job was and how it relates to the Executive Branch. It was, "The President proposes, the Congress disposes." To me, this statement ignores his own Constitutional duty to his constituents. His constituents also propose, some whom were at the Committee meeting proposing changes to NASA's direction, trying to get Congress to include changing our Cold War "Communist" Space Program into a more "Capitalist" type space program. This really would have been the best time to make such a change, but John McCain and all ignored the proposal, in favor of what President Bush and NASA proposed a few months later. Going to the Moon and Mars with our "Communist" Space Program. To me, Bush really didn't care about the whole thing and punted, letting NASA and the status quo continue on for the next two or three decades. IMO, John McCain is a really poor leader and should have been leading a Senate Committee that is controlling the purse strings of NASA. To me, he just doesn't have the leadership qualities, he is a follower. I really don't think the Committee even remotely considered what the constituent was saying about not going back to the Moon and Mars with our "Communist" legacy of the Cold War, called NASA. They were having too much fun roasting the NASA Administrator about Columbia, reading Atlantic Monthly while he was testifying. IMO, President Ron Paul, would most likely be looking to get much (if not all) of NASA off the federal books. He believes in free markets, so he might do the "Proposing" required to convert NASA into a more "Capitalist" type program. One that would have a thriving Manned space "free market", that would actually reduce the cost of going back to the Moon and Mars. Right now, Russian and their "Capitalist" space program is poised to beat us to Mars, and they may even beat us back to the Moon. I too hope SpaceX does well, they have done a lot more than power point presentations. Blowing up two rocket is far beyond a power point presentation, and far ahead of NASA's favorite Kistler (they got a bigger serving of Communist Pie? didn't they?). Kistler seems to have "experience" NASA likes? Power Point presentations and going bankrupt? Again? Two Bankruptcies vs Two launch failures? Maybe, I'll take the time to look up the links to verify the facts, get the story right, ... ...Later SignatureCraig Fink Courtesy E-Mail Welcome @ WeBeGood@GMail.Com [...] > IMO, President Ron Paul, I second Leo's complaint. There's plenty of room in sci.space.policy for this sort of discussion, and it would be relatively on-topic there, but let's focus on shuttle ops and technical issues here. /dps > [...] > > > IMO, President Ron Paul, > > I second Leo's complaint. Er, sorry, Jim in Houston. > There's plenty of room in sci.space.policy > for this sort of discussion, and it would be relatively on-topic > there, but let's focus on shuttle ops and technical issues here. I know, a proper newsreader would have killfiles, but proper newsreaders need an unblocked nntp routing. /dps Interesting that you post to the only post that is on topic and leave out the on topic stuff. SignatureCraig Fink Courtesy E-Mail Welcome @ WeBeGood@GMail.Com -- >> [...] >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > /dps http://www.google.com/search?q=%22President+Ron+Paul%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&r ls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a Currently 111,000 hits on Google. > Interesting that you post to the only post that is on topic and leave out > the on topic stuff. SignatureCraig Fink Courtesy E-Mail Welcome @ WeBeGood@GMail.Com > Boeing's contract. The last thing we need from NASA is another white > elephant. Let Boeing spend their own $518 million dollars building their > own upper stage, risking their own money to produce what NASA need to > explore the Moon and Mars. I presume that Boeing competed with other companies in a competitive bid process... >> Boeing's contract. The last thing we need from NASA is another white >> elephant. Let Boeing spend their own $518 million dollars building their [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >I presume that Boeing competed with other companies in a competitive bid >process... ....and could afford to take a hit on this one for the prestige of the NASA contract because they have assured long term and ongoing contracts for the military. -- >>I presume that Boeing competed with other companies in a competitive bid >>process... > >....and could afford to take a hit on this one for the prestige of the >NASA contract because they have assured long term and ongoing >contracts for the military. If you're referring to Delta II and IV, Delta II is likely nearing an end and Delta IV is now controlled by United Launch Alliance, not Boeing. Brian [...] > If you're referring to Delta II and IV, Delta II is likely nearing an > end and Delta IV is now controlled by United Launch Alliance, not > Boeing. Now *this* post is as on-topic.as any this this thread, although one could argue that *post* shuttle technical discussion should be in ssp ;-} /dps > [...] >> If you're referring to Delta II and IV, Delta II is likely nearing an [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > could argue that *post* shuttle technical discussion should be in > ssp ;-} United Launch Alliance, how do they relate to United Space Alliance????? http://www.unitedspacealliance.com/ ;-) Sure I'll start, United Space Alliance is composed of these companies... United Launch Alliance is composed of thes... >> [...] >>> If you're referring to Delta II and IV, Delta II is likely nearing an [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > >United Launch Alliance is composed of thes... Different organization. Think Boeing's 787 manufacturing operations (Everett, WA) and C-17 manufacturing operations (Long Beach, CA). They have very little in common. A big C-17 order doesn't have much of an effect on the 787 program. And huge success of the 787 doesn't mean Boeing can have a fire sale on C-17s. ULA, which was enforced on Boeing and LockMart by boneheaded Pentagon leadership (still trying to recover from the worst space decision it ever made... buying BOTH of the EELVs instead of picking one) only runs Delta and Atlas, as well as some subsidiary support functions at the Cape. Delta and Atlas are built in Decatur, Alabama. Ares I's upper stage will be built by Boeing at the GOCO plant in Michoud near New Orleans, where Shuttle External Tanks are presently built. Brian >Ares I's upper stage will be built by Boeing at the GOCO plant in >Michoud near New Orleans, where Shuttle External Tanks are presently >built. > >Brian Jorge Frank, please weigh in on this subject. I would be very interested in your thoughts please. SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com > >> Ares I's upper stage will be built by Boeing at the GOCO plant in [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Jorge Frank, please weigh in on this subject. I would be very > interested in your thoughts please. Umm... any context? Brian's statement is true, as far as it goes. NASA also plans to build the Ares V core stage and EDS at Michoud. |
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