Mark Hess

Headquarters, Washington, D.C. May 14, 1990

(Phone: 202/453-4164)

Jerry Berg
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 205/544-6540)

RELEASE: 90-68

NASA AWARDS CONTRACT TO DEVELOP ADVANCED SOLID ROCKET MOTOR

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., on

Friday, May 11, awarded an approximately 5-year-long contract to
Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., Sunnyvale, Calif., for the design,
development, test and evaluation of the Space Shuttle advanced
solid rocket motor (ASRM).

The new Shuttle motor will be phased in, during the

mid-1990s, as a replacement for the current redesigned solid
rocket motor. It will provide improved safety, reliability and
performance for the Shuttle flight program well into the 21st
Century.

The value of the basic contract is $971 million and calls

for production of 20 of the new rocket motors -- one as a
nonflying, form-and-fit "pathfinder," seven for ground
test-firing and qualification, and 12 (6 flight sets) for Shuttle
launches.

Under an option for production of additional ASRM flight

motors, NASA could order up to 88 motors (44 sets) to support the
Shuttle flight program. The additional production option could
be valued at up to $1.388 billion if the maximum of 88 motors is
purchased.

Lockheed is teamed with Aerojet Space Boosters Co.,

Sacramento, Calif., as its principal subcontractor for
development of the advanced motor, and with Rust International,
Birmingham, Ala., as the facility construction contractor.

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- 2 -

Preliminary design efforts on the project have been underway

since December 1989 under interim contracts between NASA and
Lockheed -- one for hardware and the other for facilities design
activities.

The development schedule calls for delivery of the first

flight set of motors in 1995. NASA plans to phase-in the ASRM
hardware over approximately a 3-year period for replacement of
the redesigned solid rocket motor.

Facilities for production and testing of the ASRM hardware

will be constructed under a companion facilities contract with
Lockheed, planned for award in the near future. The facilities
construction contract is to be an approximately $292-million
effort, plus an additional $236 million to provide for purchase
and installation of tooling and equipment for ASRM production.

Major facilities to be built for the project will be for

production of motor segments, nozzles and associated hardware, at
a rate of up to 30 motors per year. The facilities will be
constructed at the Yellow Creek site in extreme northeastern
Mississippi near the city of Iuka.

Specialized facilities also will be constructed at the John

C. Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss., for ground
testing of the ASRM. The Stennis Center long has been NASA's
primary testing center for liquid fueled rocket engines and now
will have the unique test stands and apparatus required for
static firing of powerful solid rocket motors. It also is
planned that a part of the manufacturing effort will be done
utilizing NASA's existing facilities at the Michoud Assembly
Facility outside New Orleans.

The most significant benefits of the new solid rocket motor

will be in enhanced reliability, safety and performance for the
Shuttle system. The safety and reliability advances will be
realized through quality and reproducibility improvements, which
in turn will result from using state-of-the-art automation and
process-control technology.

In terms of performance, the new motor is intended to

provide the Shuttle with a capability to lift heavier payloads
into orbit, with a design goal of a 12,000-pound increase over
current payload delivery performance.

Signing of the contract between NASA and Lockheed concludes

the process of definitization or spelling out in detail the types
of work the contractor is required to perform, as well as the
resources necessary to accomplish the job as specified.

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- 3 -

Lockheed was selected after a review of the technical,

management and cost proposals received in response to NASA's
August 1988 request for proposals.

Other subcontractors, in addition to Aerojet and Rust

International, are: Babcock and Wilcox, headquartered in New
Orleans, La. (fabrication of steel cases); Thiokol Corp., Ogden,
Utah (production of motor nozzles at NASA's Michoud Assembly
Facility in New Orleans); and Lockheed Austin Division, Austin,
Texas (supply of support equipment).

The Marshall Space Flight Center has management

responsibility for the ASRM and will directly manage performance
of the contract.
- end -

TO: MDS/PRA Group

1615 L Street, N.W. - Suite 100
Washington, D.C. 20036

DATE & TIME: May 14, 1990 3:45pm

ORDERED BY: Edward Campion

NASA Headquarters/LMD
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20546 PHONE: 202/453-8400

PROJECT TITLE: Release No: 90-68

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MAIL DATE: May 15, 1990

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