COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., April 5, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), who are teaming to design and build NASA's Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), today unveiled the major companies that will support their efforts to fulfill the nation's Vision for Space Exploration.
The companies include:
-- Alenia Spazio - An expert in spacecraft design, integration
and test, advance composite structures and thermal management
systems and analysis, Alenia Spazio built Nodes 2 and 3,
Multipurpose Logistics Modules, European Space Agency Columbus
laboratory and the Cupola modules for the International Space
Station.
-- ARES Corporation - A leading engineering, risk management and
project management services company, ARES offers the Northrop
Grumman/Boeing team extensive experience in the organizational
implementation of advanced risk-management techniques. ARES
is the prime contractor for program integration and control of
NASA's International Space Station as well as the main support
contractor for the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance.
-- Draper Laboratory - Supporting United States human spaceflight
programs from Apollo through the Space Shuttle and the
International Space Station, Draper specializes in the
development of autonomous and highly reliable flight systems
for human space systems and has also been leading a Concept
Exploration and Refinement study contract for NASA. Its areas
of expertise include advanced guidance, navigation and control
technologies; autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations;
in-space servicing; and autonomous mission management.
-- United Space Alliance - Bringing the Northrop Grumman/Boeing
team extensive experience in space operations, United Space
Alliance's 10,000 employees in Florida, Texas and Alabama
support NASA's human space flight programs with expertise in
space launch and recovery operations; mission planning and
control; ground systems and flight hardware processing;
space flight training; on-orbit assembly, payload deployment
and servicing; rendezvous operations and docking; and complex
space systems integration.
CEV is the first crewed element in NASA's new Constellation Systems, a collection of human and robotic space systems that will allow astronauts to travel safely and cost-effectively to the Moon, Mars and beyond beginning in the middle of the next decade. NASA plans to award one or more CEV system development and demonstration contracts in Sept 2005. Following a flight demonstration in 2008, the space agency is expected to select a single contractor team to begin full-scale development of the CEV.
"The subcontractors we've assembled to support the Northrop Grumman and Boeing space exploration team includes some of the most experienced, most knowledgeable and most innovative space systems thinkers in the world," said Doug Young, Northrop Grumman's corporate lead executive for Constellation Systems. "Their expertise will help us not only design and produce an elegant solution for CEV, but also manage the critical system development risks, both technical and financial, that must be in harmony with the mission requirements of our NASA customer."
"As a team, Boeing and Northrop Grumman offer NASA more than 90 years of combined space systems experience, including leading roles with every major human space mission to date," said Chuck Allen, Boeing vice president, Space Exploration Systems. "In putting together the 'best-of-the-best' CEV team, we have subcontractors who share our commitment to the Vision for Space Exploration."
Boeing NASA Systems is an operating unit of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $30 billion business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global military, government and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense and U.S. Department of Homeland Security; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in launch services.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense company headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. It provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in systems integration, defense electronics, information technology, advanced aircraft, shipbuilding and space technology. With more than 125,000 employees, and operations in all 50 states and 25 countries, the company serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers. Today, more than 20,000 of Northrop Grumman's employees are devoted to space-related projects.