Boeing Files Proposal To Run Next-Gen Space-Vehicle Operations
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Boeing Co. (BA) has submitted a proposal to the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration to run ground systems and launch-operation services for the
agency's next-generation spacecraft.
The announcement from the aerospace company came a day before NASA's initial
test flight of the Ares 1 rocket, NASA's vehicle to take astronauts into space
after the retirement of the Space Shuttle.
As the prime contractor for ground operations at the Kennedy Space Center,
Boeing has thrown its hat into the ring to manage ground systems integration for
the Constellation program, set to replace the shuttle. However, the Obama
administration has yet to decide on funding and technology for continued human
space exploration.
Boeing has already won several Ares 1 contracts in recent years and said
Monday it expects to award the Exploration Ground Launch Services contract in
April.
The Obama administration is leaning toward outsourcing major components of its
space program, such as ferrying cargo and astronauts to the International Space
Station. The scale and nature of sending this type of work to private
contractors, unheard of in NASA's history, could help the administration cope
with an increasingly dire budget situation and fill crucial gaps in its program.
The space shuttle program has been slated to stop flying next year, but the
potential exists for that timeline to be extended.
-By Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2354; kevin.kingsbury@
dowjones.com
(Ann Keeton contributed to this story)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-26-091523ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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