LOCKHEED SPACECRAFT COULD WIN OVER NASA.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Lockheed Martin officials said they could field a new manned spacecraft capable of staying 19 days in space with a crew aboard by 2011.

Lockheed Martin officials said they have a leg up on their rivals in the competition to build NASA's crew exploration vehicle.

The company said its proposal to NASA is low-risk because it leverages existing technologies, such as electronics equipment that has already flown in space; is better positioned to help transition NASA from the space shuttle, which Lockheed Martin serves as contractor for operations; and has a diverse work force ready to move from programs that are winding down to CEV.

``We think we have a low-cost, low-risk approach,'' said John Karas, vice president of space exploration for Lockheed Martin.

The spacecraft would be capable of staying in orbit for up to six months while unmanned and could support a crew for 19 days.

The CEV is designed to land on the ground rather than sea splashdowns. The spacecraft's landing would be slowed by a combination of four parachutes and retro rockets.

The spacecraft is designed to land in high winds, a feature that could come in handy if NASA opts to end missions with landings at Edwards Air Force Base.

``It has a lot more capability compared to the Apollo program,'' Karas said.

While much has been made of the fact that the Northrop Grumman-Boeing team had a head start on its capsule design, Lockheed Martin officials said the company has worked on several space capsules. Among those space capsules was Stardust, a spacecraft that captured particles from a comet and return the samples to Earth earlier this year.

Sometime this fall, NASA will select either the Lockheed Martin-led team or one led by Northrop Grumman, with Boeing as its major partner, to build the crew exploration vehicle.

A Northrop Grumman spokesman said its team is not commenting at this time on its proposal other than to say it is optimistic it will receive the NASA contract.

``We are very confident,'' said Northrop Grumman spokesman Brooks McKinney.

The spacecraft will transport up to six crew members to and from the International Space Station and up to four astronauts for moon missions, which the agency expects to start in 2018. NASA estimates that it will cost $104 billion to return astronauts to the moon by 2018.

NASA referred to the new moon plan as ``Apollo on steroids.'' The plan calls for placing four astronauts on the moon's surface instead of two, as during the Apollo days. Astronauts will be able to stay on the moon's surface for four days to a week, compared with the three-day mission of Apollo 17.

Lockheed Martin is leading a team that includes Honeywell, Orbital, United Space Alliance and Hamilton Sundstrand.

Jim Skeen, [phone]

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com