Press Release
PlanetSpace announced today it has added the Space Exploration division of The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) to its existing teammates, Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT), on the proposed solution to NASA for the Commercial Resupply Services to the International Space Station.
The PlanetSpace ISS Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) team includes the following major members:
- PlanetSpace is the overall prime contractor and manages the CRS contract.
- ATK provides the Athena III launch vehicle and ground processing.
- Lockheed Martin and Boeing will develop, produce and operate modular Orbital Transfer Vehicles (OTV) that serve as the cargo carriers to the International Space Station.
Continue reading ‘PlanetSpace Adds Boeing to COTS Team’
Orbital Sciences reports 2Q profit up 87 percent
Associated Press
“Orbital Sciences Corp. posted solid earnings growth for the second quarter Thursday, driven by strong sales in its advanced space programs and launch vehicle operations. The Dulles, Va., company reported earnings jumped 87 percent to $25.8 million, or 43 cents per share, for the second quarter, from $13.8 million, or 23 cents per share, in the second quarter of last year.”
Lockheed 2Q profit up 13 percent
Associated Press
“Lockheed Martin Corp. posted a 13 percent increase in second-quarter earnings Tuesday, beating Wall Street expectations and prompting the company to raise its yearly outlook as it made up a drop in fighter jet sales with strength in its other business units.”
Armored vehicles lift General Dynamics 2Q profit
Associated Press
“Feeding the Pentagon’s demand for armored vehicles helped drive up General Dynamics Corp.’s second quarter profit by 25 percent, lifting shares of the defense contractor, which also raised its outlook for the year on Wednesday. General Dynamics’ stock jumped nearly 7 percent, closing up $5.82 at $89.27 per share.”
Delays hurt Boeing’s 2Q profit, which falls 19 pct
Associated Press
“Delays hurt Boeing Co.’s second-quarter profit, which fell 19 percent because of late delivery of military aircraft and rising costs from the postponed introduction of its 787 jetliner. But the Chicago-based company, the world’s second-largest commercial airplane maker after Europe’s Airbus, reaffirmed its forecasts for 2008 and 2009, saying productivity gains would overcome the quarter’s setbacks.”
Three of America’s largest defense and aerospace companies all reported increased first quarter profits this week.
“Boeing Co., the world’s second biggest commercial airplane manufacturer, reported a better-than-expected 38 percent jump in its first-quarter earnings, as it improved efficiency and recorded more orders for its aircraft,” the Associated Press reported. “The results, announced Wednesday by the Chicago-based aerospace and defense company, sent Boeing shares to a two-month high.”
Lockheed Martin reported profits rose 6 percent on sales of space systems, missiles and information technology systems. The Bethesda, Maryland-based company reported profits of $730 million, or $1.75 per share, beating analysts’ expectations of $1.63 per share.
The nation’s fourth largest defense contractor, General Dynamics, reported a 32-percent increase in first quarter earnings. The company’s net profit was $572 million, or $1.43 per share, up from $434 million or $1.07 per share. Profits rose on increased sales in combat systems, marine systems and the aerospace segment.
NASA also announced that it has awarded General Dynamics a $116 million contract for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). The company’s Advanced Information Systems unit will be responsible for designing and fabricating the LDCM spacecraft bus, integrating instruments, satellite-level testing, on-orbit satellite check-out, and continuing on-orbit engineering support. General Dynamics also will provide a spacecraft/observatory simulator.
America’s lead in space is eroding, and without extra funding and support the country could end up falling behind up-and-coming space powers such as India and China, a Boeing executive said on Wednesday.
“You have to be worried about the threat of the new guy opening a shop down the street,” said James Albaugh, chief executive officer of Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems. “It’s not a time to take a back seat. It’s about our nation’s ability to lead and not follow.”
Albaugh spoke at the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. The Vail Daily has the full story.
ORION PROPULSION PRESS RELEASE
Boeing has announced their Industry Team for the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper Stage Production bid. Orion Propulsion has been revealed as a team member and will supply reaction control system thruster test equipment, tooling, and test support services. Orion will also provide design, fabrication, and testing expertise. In addition, Orion will be working with Boeing’s mentor-protégé program in order to grow as a supplier to both Boeing and NASA.
Orion’s President, Tim Pickens, says, “We are very excited to be part of the Boeing Ares I Team. I think Boeing has chosen team members that are technically savvy and committed to lean manufacturing. As the president of a small business, I appreciate Boeing’s commitment to using innovative and affordable businesses that are eager to meet NASA’s needs in a responsive manner. I think Boeing will lead a team of suppliers that provides the best lean production solution and the most cost-effective strategy to support NASA’s CLV goals.”
Orion Propulsion is located outside of Huntsville, Alabama. The company recently signed an agreement to provide thrusters for Bigelow Aerospace’s Sundancer space station.
NASA has awarded small contracts to five companies to conduct a 210-day study of the agency’s in-house design for a human lunar lander. The five companies are:
Andrews Space, Seattle
The Boeing Co., Houston
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Denver
Northrop Grumman Corporation, El Segundo, Calif.
Odyssey Space Research, Houston.
The contracts total $1.5 million; the largest is for $350,000. These awards are part of NASA’s effort to send astronauts back to the moon by 2020.
“These studies will provide valuable input for developing a sound set of requirements for the Altair lunar lander,” said Jeff Hanley, the Constellation Program manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Industry collaboration will provide insight for our planning and early design efforts for the spacecraft.”
This was a busy week for launchers - and not an entirely successful one.
On Tuesday, the space shuttle Endeavour rocketed into orbit with its seven member crew. Despite some initial fears of a debris strike, a check turned up nothing of concern on the orbiter, which linked up with the International Space Station on Thursday.
That same day, an Atlas V placed a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload into polar orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base. This marked the first launch of the heavy-lift Atlas V from the California rocketport. Atlas V is built by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
On Friday, the upper stage of a Proton M launched from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome malfunctioned during its second burn. The AMC-14 communications satellite was stranded in an elliptical transfer orbit with an apogee of 28,000 kilometers, far short of geosynchronous orbit.
Russian officials held out hope that the Lockheed-built DISH Network satellite could use its own engines to reach the proper orbit. The satellite’s owner, SES Americom, will need to make a decision about what to do.
Early Saturday morning, a Delta 2 rocket lit up the darkened skies as it blasted off from Cape Canaveral carrying a Block 2 GPS spacecraft. The rocket placed the Lockheed-built payload into a transfer orbit 68 minutes later. This was the second successful launch by ULA in as many days.
Aerojet and Boeing have signed an associate contractor’s agreement to build the upper stage of the Ares rocket for NASA’s Orion lunar program. The contract also involves four other companies: Hamilton Sundstrand, Jacobs Engineering Group, Moog Inc., and Teledyne Brown Engineering. Aerojet, a division of GenCorp, is based in Rancho Cordova, Calif.
Read the Sacramento Bee story here. Aerojet has also issued a press release.
