Tue, Oct 02, 2007
Testing To Be Conducted At White Sands, NM
NASA's White Sands, NM Test Facility has selected Denco, Inc. of
Las Cruces, NM to build launch site facilities for flight testing
of the Orion Launch Abort System.
The competitive award is valued at $3.1 million. Under the terms
of the contract, Denco will be responsible for the first work
package of the Project Orion Abort Flight Test Launch Facility.
The package covers construction of a 120-by-160-foot final
integration and test facility building and surrounding site
improvements and infrastructure. Groundbreaking is scheduled for
mid-November.
Orion is the crew exploration vehicle that NASA's Constellation
Program is developing to service the International Space Station
and carry humans to the moon in the next decade. The flight tests
at the White Sands Test Facility will support certification of
Orion's launch abort system, an escape rocket designed to ensure
the safety of the crew in the event of a rocket malfunction on the
launch pad or during ascent.
The Abort Flight Test Launch Facility will be located at Launch
Complex 32 on the US Army's White Sands Missile Range. It will
support the Pad Abort 1 test mission from this facility in fall
2008 and additional ascent abort flights starting in fall 2009 and
extending through 2011.
The White Sands Test Facility is operated by NASA's Johnson
Space Center at the missile range. The launch abort tests are
managed by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force
Base, CA.
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