3 TEAMS WIN SPACE-PLANE DEALS.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), civilian agency of the U.S. federal government with the mission of conducting research and developing operational programs in the areas of space exploration, artificial satellites (see satellite, artificial), awarded $135 million in contracts to three industrial teams to design competing concepts for the nation's next manned spacecraft This is a list of manned spacecraft (including space stations) sorted by manufacturer/operator and series in chronological order. Operational spacecraft China National Space Administration
The Boeing Company's division in Seal Beach Seal Beach, city (1990 pop. 25,098), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast; inc. 1915. It is a beach city with an active art colony. Transportation equipment and concrete are among the city's manufactures. U.S. naval stations are nearby. , a Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. company based in Denver and a third team, formed by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Virginia and Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. in El Segundo El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and , will receive approximately $45 million apiece to develop its concept of an orbital space plane and to plan ground operations and all supporting technologies needed to fly to and from the International Space Station. The contracts, which will run through July 2004, give the teams wide latitude to design a winged craft, a capsule or a lifting-body craft. NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. wants the orbital space plane to be ready for use as an emergency ``lifeboat'' for the International Space Station by 2010 and for use to transport astronauts to the space station by 2012. NASA officials called for the craft to hold at least four astronauts and to be safer and easier to prepare for launches than the space shuttle. The initial contracts leave open the possibility that different versions of the craft could be developed for the separate roles of emergency lifeboat and regular space transportation. Also left open is the possibility of multiple vehicles for the crew-return mission. NASA officials plan to further expand upon the requirements this fall after an initial review of design concepts. A decision to start full-scale development is expected in the fall of 2004. For the lifeboat function, NASA officials want a craft that could rapidly separate from the International Space Station in an emergency and return to Earth. They want to be able to transport an injured or ill crew member from the space station to a medical facility in less than 24 hours. They also want contractors to look at the possibility of using the spacecraft to deliver cargo to the space station. As part of the effort to develop the orbital space plane, NASA awarded a $301 million contract to Boeing's Phantom Works division in November to continue development of the unmanned X-37 test craft, now under assembly in Palmdale, and to build a more advanced version to be tested in space. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.-Palmdale is conducting studies, including on airframe design, to support Lockheed Martin Space and Strategic Missiles Co. in Denver on its orbital space plane work. |
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