NASA's Formal RFP Expected In June
As they say, the early bird gets the
worm... and Raytheon Company told ANN Friday the company plans to
submit a proposal as the prime contractor to partner with NASA on
the development and manufacture of the Instrument Unit Avionics on
NASA's Ares I, the Crew Launch Vehicle that will carry astronauts
into orbit when the Space Shuttle is retired in 2010. NASA is
expected to distribute an official request for proposal for the
Ares I Instrument Unit Avionics in early June.
"Raytheon is uniquely positioned to support the NASA design team
at Marshall Space Flight Center on a program that is as bold and
innovative as the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle," said Louise
Francesconi, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "Our technical
expertise, innovative solutions, mature manufacturing processes and
more than 40 years of space experience make us the right partner
for NASA."
Raytheon has appointed former astronaut Don McMonagle, vice
president of Quality & Mission Effectiveness at Raytheon
Missile Systems, to lead the company's pursuit of the Ares I
Instrument Unit Avionics contract.
Along with his career as a test pilot in the US Air Force,
McMonagle served as a crew member on three shuttle missions and
commanded the STS-66 mission.
"Raytheon brings a legacy of innovation and a customer-focused
culture to support NASA on this significant step toward our destiny
in space exploration," McMonagle said. "We will partner with NASA
to make the space exploration vision a reality by providing
transferable processes and an expanded portfolio of
industry-leading suppliers who are as eager as we are to help NASA
achieve the Ares I objectives."
Raytheon states the company offers skilled engineering and
program management professionals and the transferable manufacturing
processes required to maintain and establish sophisticated space
system manufacturing capabilities. The company also notes it has
delivered more than one million missiles that perform in
mission-critical situations for customers worldwide.
To develop its proposal, Raytheon is working in Huntsville, AL
with Dynetics, an industry-leading expert in radar system analysis
and engineering technical support for tactical weapon systems.
Raytheon has developed and deployed space-related technologies
and solutions for customers in global civil, defense and
intelligence markets for over 40 years.