ROCKETDYNE GETTING A LIFT : COMPANY TO PROVIDE ENGINES FOR MCDONNELL DOUGLAS ROCKET PROJECT.Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer Canoga Park-based Rocketdyne got a major boost Friday when McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It merged with Boeing in 1997 to form The Boeing Company. Corp. was named one of two finalists for a $1.6 billion contract to build the Air Force's next family of rockets. Rocketdyne will supply RS-68 engines to McDonnell Douglas, which is competing against 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. Corp. to be prime contractor for the all-purpose rocket program, called the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program was a United States government, primarily a Department of Defense–sponsored effort to develop at least one family of space launch vehicles, that would meet the long term needs of the military and fulfill commercial . McDonnell and Lockheed beat out Boeing Co. and Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems NYSE: ATK is a major US aerospace and defense contractor with sales of approximately USD $3.6 billion (fiscal year 2007) [1] and strong positions in propulsion, composite structures, munitions, precision capabilities, and civil and sporting as finalists for the EELV EELV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle EELV End-Expiratory Lung Volume EELV Extended Expendable Launch Vehicle pact, which is expected to generate Air Force spending of up to $20.6 billion for 193 launches between 2002 and 2020. The EELV also will be used to carry NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. and commercial payloads. The Air Force will make a final decision in May 1998 on which of the two versions of the rocket will be ordered. The EELV - designed to replace the Delta, Atlas and Titan launch systems - is expected to save the government $5 billion to $10 billion between 2002 and 2020. Rocketdyne, which became part of Boeing Co. this month after operating as part of Rockwell International Rockwell International was the ultimate incarnation of a series of companies under the sphere of influence of Willard Rockwell, who had made his fortune after the invention and successful launch of a new bearing system for truck axles in 1919. Corp. for 41 years, said Friday its work on the next phase of the competition - preliminary engineering and manufacturing development - will be worth more than $35 million. It also estimated its work on final engineering and manufacturing development and actual production would be worth more than $2 billion over the first 20 years of operation. About 25 employees will be added to the 70 already working on the RS-68 project, according to program manager Art Weiss. Rocketdyne has completed 11 tests on the thrust chamber at Marshall Space Flight Center The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the original home of NASA, is a lead center for propulsion, Space Shuttle propulsion, Shuttle external fuel tank, crew training and payloads, International Space Station (ISS) design and construction, for computers, networks, and in Huntsville, Ala., achieving 600,000 pounds of thrust, making it the most powerful hydrogen-oxygen engine ever run. ``We could have given it higher performance and we could have made it lighter, but either of those would have driven costs up,'' Weiss said. ``We have achieved a perfect balance in this design.'' Rocketdyne's RS-68 engine will be competing against the RD-180, developed by Russia-based NPO Energomash as part of a joint venture with United Technologies Inc. subsidiary Pratt & Whitney. Both engines are fueled by a mixture of liquid hydrogen and oxygen. ``The RS-68 incorporates the most advanced liquid rocket engine technology found anywhere,'' Rocketdyne President Paul Smith said. McDonnell Douglas will oversee Rocketdyne's work from its rocket operations in Huntington Beach, while Lockheed will perform main assembly of its rocket in Denver. |
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