JimMcDade
09-18-2008, 06:02 PM
from:Santa Ynez Valley Journal (CA)
95 Calif. companies working on rocket for return to moon
[Only Registered Users Can See Links]
<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Ares I rocket, America’s next flagship in space, is now in development by NASA and its industry partners, and soon will carry human explorers and new missions of discovery to the moon and beyond. And California workers are helping make it happen.
<o></o>
Planning and building the Ares I, the first launch vehicle in NASA’s next-generation Constellation Program fleet, is truly a national effort, supported by more than 200 companies in 32 states and Puerto Rico. Ninety-five of those companies — nearly half — are in California, working on every major Ares I project. <o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
Eight California companies support NASA’s Ares I First Stage Project. One supports NASA’s Ares I Upper Stage Project. Another 86 work on NASA’s Ares I Upper Stage Engine Project.
<o></o>
Ares I contracts in the state have a combined value of more than $409.5 million.
<o></o>
“California companies and contributors across the nation are providing critical engineering expertise, hardware and materials fabrication and testing and a wide spectrum of support services,” said Steve Cook, manager of Ares projects at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
“Their work ensures that NASA will, in the next decade, successfully fly the Ares I rocket to orbit to support the International Space Station and send Americans back to the moon, preparing the way for rewarding new journeys of discovery throughout the solar system,” he said.<o>:p</o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
Ares rocket described<o></o>
The 165-foot-long Ares I first stage, the backbone of the integrated launch vehicle system, is a five-segment solid rocket booster derived from the space shuttle’s twin boosters, enhanced and reconfigured to produce greater thrust, according to NASA. Burning more than 1.3 million pounds of propellant in just 125.8 seconds, the first stage will propel the rocket to an altitude of roughly 36 miles before being jettisoned.
<o></o>
As the Ares I upper stage engine ignites, the first stage will deploy parachutes and gently drop into the sea for recovery, analysis and reuse, NASA said.<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
The 84-foot-long Ares I upper stage is propelled by a J-2X main engine fueled with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. According to NASA, the J-2X is an evolved variation of two historic predecessors: the powerful J-2 engine that propelled the Apollo-era Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets, and the J-2X, a simplified version of the J-2 developed and tested in the early 1970s but never flown.
<o></o>
The J-2X will operate for approximately 465 seconds, burning more than 302,200 pounds of propellant, and shut down when Ares I reaches an altitude of roughly 83 miles, NASA said. The Orion crew exploration vehicle then will separate from the upper stage, and its own engine will fire to insert the spacecraft into low Earth orbit. The upper stage will reenter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down in the Indian Ocean.
<o></o>
Constellation Program fleet
<o></o>
NASA’s Constellation Program fleet — now more than four years into development — includes the Ares I, the Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle and the Orion spacecraft. The Ares V will serve as NASA’s primary vessel for safe, reliable delivery of large-scale hardware to space, including the Altair lunar lander, also now in development, and supplies needed to establish a sustained human presence on the moon. The Orion will safely ferry a crew of four to six astronauts to a variety of destinations in space.
<o></o>
The first Ares I test flight, called Ares I-X, is scheduled for 2009.
<o></o>
The first crewed launch of the Ares I rocket is planned for no later than 2015, and NASA plans to send the first missions back to the moon around 2020.<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
“We’re proud to help continue the nation’s tradition of leadership in space,” Cook said. “Since NASA’s creation 50 years ago, our endeavors have yielded or inspired technology innovations that enrich nearly every commercial industry and benefit Americans and people around the world in countless ways. Our team effort on Ares I will continue that legacy, and also help to stimulate our economy and re-ignite the country’s passion to journey to worlds beyond our own.
<o></o>
“It takes a nation to build a rocket,” Cook added. “This is the rocket that will inspire our nation.”
<o></o>
The Marshall Center manages Ares Projects for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington. The Constellation Program Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston leads the next-generation launch vehicle development program. <o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
Ares contractors
<o></o>
Three prime contractors lead NASA’s Ares I effort for industry. NASA awarded the contract to lead the Ares I First Stage Project, valued at approximately $1.8 billion, to Alliant Techsystems (ATK) of Minneapolis in August 2007. The Boeing Co. of Huntsville, Ala., was awarded Ares I contracts valued at approximately $2 billion -- $1.2 billion for the Upper Stage production contract, awarded in September 2007, and $800 million for the Ares I Upper Stage Avionics Unit, awarded in December 2007. The contract for the Ares I Upper Stage Engine Project, valued at approximately $1.2 billion, was awarded to Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., of Canoga Park, Calif., in June 2006.
<o></o>
California companies working on Ares include:<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
First Stage Project
<o></o>
BD Systems Inc. (Torrance); Butler International (El Segundo); Cytec Engineered Materials Inc. (Orange); Force Measurement Systems (Fullerton); Goodrich Corp. (Fairfield); Kirkhill-TA Co. (Brea); SGL Carbon Composites Inc. (Gardena); Votaw Precision Technologies (Santa Fe Springs).<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
Upper Stage Project<o></o>
Hampton Scott Group LLC (Encino).<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
Upper Stage Engine Project<o></o>
A&S Case Co. (North Hollywood); Accurate Tube Bending Inc. (Newark); Aerospace USA Inc. (Fullerton); Airdrome Parts Co. (Long Beach); Airtek Engineering Services (Tarzana); Allan Aircraft Supply Co. (North Hollywood); Altemp Alloys Inc. (Orange); Anixter Pentacon Inc. (Chatsworth); Arcturus Manufacturing Corp. (Oxnard); Artcraft Welding Inc. (Campbell); Beranek Inc. (Torrance); Blake Wire & Cable Corp. (Van Nuys); CABRAC Inc. (Pacoima); Cal Metal Center(Chatsworth); Carlton Forge Works (Paramount); Ceycal Inc. (Woodland Hills); Cicon Engineering Inc. (Van Nuys); Coast Plating Inc. (Gardena); Computer Systems Supply (Simi Valley); CSULA College of Engineering (Los Angeles); Dytran Instruments Inc. (Chatsworth); Electro Adapter Inc. (Chatsworth); Electron Beam Welding Inc. (Buena Park); Electro Rent Corp. (Van Nuys); EM Coating Services (North Hollywood); Endevco Corp. (San Juan Capistrano); Finn Tool & Instruments Inc. (Canoga Park); FMH Investor Group (Irvine); FPI Inc. (Burbank); G&D Industries Inc. (Covina); Gardner Bellows Corp. (Chatsworth); Goldenwest Manufacturing Inc. (Cedar Ridge); Hales Engineering Co. Inc. (Camarillo); Harvey Titanium (El Segundo); Hoefner Corp. (South El Monte); HR Textron Inc. (Valencia); Intelligent Data Inc. (Van Nuys); Interface Welding (Carson); Kirkhill-TA Co. (Valencia); L.A. Gauge Co. (Sun Valley); Laurel Sheet Metal Production Inc. (North Hollywood); Leda Corp. (Huntington Beach); Le Fiell Manufacturing Co. (Santa Fe Springs); Lobart Co. (Pacoima); Maroney Co. (Northridge); Marway Power Systems (Irvine); MCM Fabrication Inc. (Shafter); Micro West Tech Inc. (Chatsworth); Midcom Corp. (Anaheim); Mitech Controls Inc. (Yorba Linda); Mjollnir Metallurgical (Atascadero); Moeller Manufacturing & Supply Inc. (Anaheim); Mooney Industries Precision (Canoga Park); Morgan Advanced Ceramics Inc. (Hayward); M.S. Aerospace Inc. (Sylmar); National Process Industries (Temecula); National Technical Systems (Santa Clarita); PAC Foundries (City of Industry); Pacific Scientific EMC (Hollister); Paragon Precision (Valencia); Parasoft Corp. (Monrovia); Peen-Rite Inc. (Sun Valley); Plasma-Coating Corp. (Gardena); Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (Canoga Park); Precision Tube Bending (Santa Fe Springs); Professional Plastics (Fullerton); Rayco Electronics Manufacturing Inc. (Gardena); RBC Industrial Tectonics Bearings Corp. (Rancho Dominguez); Rodon Products Inc. (Huntington Beach); Rudell Carbide Inc. (Chino); Sager Electronics (Fountain Valley); Saint-Gobain Performance (Garden Grove); Schlosser Forge Co. (Rancho Cucamonga); Shultz Steel Co. (South Gate); Sierra Proto Express (Sunnyvale); Solara Engineering (Chatsworth); Steven Label Corp. (Santa Fe Springs); Thermech Engineering Corp. (Anaheim); Triad Systems International (Calabasas); Tri-Star Plastics (Yorba Linda); TW Metals Inc. (Los Angeles); Uline Inc. (Lake Forest); Valley Seal Co. (Woodland Hills); Welco Electronics Inc. (Sun Valley); Wind River Systems Inc. (Alameda); Wire Cut Company Inc. (Buena Park); W.W. Grainger Inc. (Northridge).
95 Calif. companies working on rocket for return to moon
[Only Registered Users Can See Links]
<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Ares I rocket, America’s next flagship in space, is now in development by NASA and its industry partners, and soon will carry human explorers and new missions of discovery to the moon and beyond. And California workers are helping make it happen.
<o></o>
Planning and building the Ares I, the first launch vehicle in NASA’s next-generation Constellation Program fleet, is truly a national effort, supported by more than 200 companies in 32 states and Puerto Rico. Ninety-five of those companies — nearly half — are in California, working on every major Ares I project. <o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
Eight California companies support NASA’s Ares I First Stage Project. One supports NASA’s Ares I Upper Stage Project. Another 86 work on NASA’s Ares I Upper Stage Engine Project.
<o></o>
Ares I contracts in the state have a combined value of more than $409.5 million.
<o></o>
“California companies and contributors across the nation are providing critical engineering expertise, hardware and materials fabrication and testing and a wide spectrum of support services,” said Steve Cook, manager of Ares projects at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
“Their work ensures that NASA will, in the next decade, successfully fly the Ares I rocket to orbit to support the International Space Station and send Americans back to the moon, preparing the way for rewarding new journeys of discovery throughout the solar system,” he said.<o>:p</o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
Ares rocket described<o></o>
The 165-foot-long Ares I first stage, the backbone of the integrated launch vehicle system, is a five-segment solid rocket booster derived from the space shuttle’s twin boosters, enhanced and reconfigured to produce greater thrust, according to NASA. Burning more than 1.3 million pounds of propellant in just 125.8 seconds, the first stage will propel the rocket to an altitude of roughly 36 miles before being jettisoned.
<o></o>
As the Ares I upper stage engine ignites, the first stage will deploy parachutes and gently drop into the sea for recovery, analysis and reuse, NASA said.<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
The 84-foot-long Ares I upper stage is propelled by a J-2X main engine fueled with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. According to NASA, the J-2X is an evolved variation of two historic predecessors: the powerful J-2 engine that propelled the Apollo-era Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets, and the J-2X, a simplified version of the J-2 developed and tested in the early 1970s but never flown.
<o></o>
The J-2X will operate for approximately 465 seconds, burning more than 302,200 pounds of propellant, and shut down when Ares I reaches an altitude of roughly 83 miles, NASA said. The Orion crew exploration vehicle then will separate from the upper stage, and its own engine will fire to insert the spacecraft into low Earth orbit. The upper stage will reenter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down in the Indian Ocean.
<o></o>
Constellation Program fleet
<o></o>
NASA’s Constellation Program fleet — now more than four years into development — includes the Ares I, the Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle and the Orion spacecraft. The Ares V will serve as NASA’s primary vessel for safe, reliable delivery of large-scale hardware to space, including the Altair lunar lander, also now in development, and supplies needed to establish a sustained human presence on the moon. The Orion will safely ferry a crew of four to six astronauts to a variety of destinations in space.
<o></o>
The first Ares I test flight, called Ares I-X, is scheduled for 2009.
<o></o>
The first crewed launch of the Ares I rocket is planned for no later than 2015, and NASA plans to send the first missions back to the moon around 2020.<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
“We’re proud to help continue the nation’s tradition of leadership in space,” Cook said. “Since NASA’s creation 50 years ago, our endeavors have yielded or inspired technology innovations that enrich nearly every commercial industry and benefit Americans and people around the world in countless ways. Our team effort on Ares I will continue that legacy, and also help to stimulate our economy and re-ignite the country’s passion to journey to worlds beyond our own.
<o></o>
“It takes a nation to build a rocket,” Cook added. “This is the rocket that will inspire our nation.”
<o></o>
The Marshall Center manages Ares Projects for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington. The Constellation Program Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston leads the next-generation launch vehicle development program. <o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
Ares contractors
<o></o>
Three prime contractors lead NASA’s Ares I effort for industry. NASA awarded the contract to lead the Ares I First Stage Project, valued at approximately $1.8 billion, to Alliant Techsystems (ATK) of Minneapolis in August 2007. The Boeing Co. of Huntsville, Ala., was awarded Ares I contracts valued at approximately $2 billion -- $1.2 billion for the Upper Stage production contract, awarded in September 2007, and $800 million for the Ares I Upper Stage Avionics Unit, awarded in December 2007. The contract for the Ares I Upper Stage Engine Project, valued at approximately $1.2 billion, was awarded to Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., of Canoga Park, Calif., in June 2006.
<o></o>
California companies working on Ares include:<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
First Stage Project
<o></o>
BD Systems Inc. (Torrance); Butler International (El Segundo); Cytec Engineered Materials Inc. (Orange); Force Measurement Systems (Fullerton); Goodrich Corp. (Fairfield); Kirkhill-TA Co. (Brea); SGL Carbon Composites Inc. (Gardena); Votaw Precision Technologies (Santa Fe Springs).<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
Upper Stage Project<o></o>
Hampton Scott Group LLC (Encino).<o></o>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
Upper Stage Engine Project<o></o>
A&S Case Co. (North Hollywood); Accurate Tube Bending Inc. (Newark); Aerospace USA Inc. (Fullerton); Airdrome Parts Co. (Long Beach); Airtek Engineering Services (Tarzana); Allan Aircraft Supply Co. (North Hollywood); Altemp Alloys Inc. (Orange); Anixter Pentacon Inc. (Chatsworth); Arcturus Manufacturing Corp. (Oxnard); Artcraft Welding Inc. (Campbell); Beranek Inc. (Torrance); Blake Wire & Cable Corp. (Van Nuys); CABRAC Inc. (Pacoima); Cal Metal Center(Chatsworth); Carlton Forge Works (Paramount); Ceycal Inc. (Woodland Hills); Cicon Engineering Inc. (Van Nuys); Coast Plating Inc. (Gardena); Computer Systems Supply (Simi Valley); CSULA College of Engineering (Los Angeles); Dytran Instruments Inc. (Chatsworth); Electro Adapter Inc. (Chatsworth); Electron Beam Welding Inc. (Buena Park); Electro Rent Corp. (Van Nuys); EM Coating Services (North Hollywood); Endevco Corp. (San Juan Capistrano); Finn Tool & Instruments Inc. (Canoga Park); FMH Investor Group (Irvine); FPI Inc. (Burbank); G&D Industries Inc. (Covina); Gardner Bellows Corp. (Chatsworth); Goldenwest Manufacturing Inc. (Cedar Ridge); Hales Engineering Co. Inc. (Camarillo); Harvey Titanium (El Segundo); Hoefner Corp. (South El Monte); HR Textron Inc. (Valencia); Intelligent Data Inc. (Van Nuys); Interface Welding (Carson); Kirkhill-TA Co. (Valencia); L.A. Gauge Co. (Sun Valley); Laurel Sheet Metal Production Inc. (North Hollywood); Leda Corp. (Huntington Beach); Le Fiell Manufacturing Co. (Santa Fe Springs); Lobart Co. (Pacoima); Maroney Co. (Northridge); Marway Power Systems (Irvine); MCM Fabrication Inc. (Shafter); Micro West Tech Inc. (Chatsworth); Midcom Corp. (Anaheim); Mitech Controls Inc. (Yorba Linda); Mjollnir Metallurgical (Atascadero); Moeller Manufacturing & Supply Inc. (Anaheim); Mooney Industries Precision (Canoga Park); Morgan Advanced Ceramics Inc. (Hayward); M.S. Aerospace Inc. (Sylmar); National Process Industries (Temecula); National Technical Systems (Santa Clarita); PAC Foundries (City of Industry); Pacific Scientific EMC (Hollister); Paragon Precision (Valencia); Parasoft Corp. (Monrovia); Peen-Rite Inc. (Sun Valley); Plasma-Coating Corp. (Gardena); Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (Canoga Park); Precision Tube Bending (Santa Fe Springs); Professional Plastics (Fullerton); Rayco Electronics Manufacturing Inc. (Gardena); RBC Industrial Tectonics Bearings Corp. (Rancho Dominguez); Rodon Products Inc. (Huntington Beach); Rudell Carbide Inc. (Chino); Sager Electronics (Fountain Valley); Saint-Gobain Performance (Garden Grove); Schlosser Forge Co. (Rancho Cucamonga); Shultz Steel Co. (South Gate); Sierra Proto Express (Sunnyvale); Solara Engineering (Chatsworth); Steven Label Corp. (Santa Fe Springs); Thermech Engineering Corp. (Anaheim); Triad Systems International (Calabasas); Tri-Star Plastics (Yorba Linda); TW Metals Inc. (Los Angeles); Uline Inc. (Lake Forest); Valley Seal Co. (Woodland Hills); Welco Electronics Inc. (Sun Valley); Wind River Systems Inc. (Alameda); Wire Cut Company Inc. (Buena Park); W.W. Grainger Inc. (Northridge).