WASHINGTON -- The field of likely bidders to build
the Orbital Space Plane is about to shrink from three to two, according to
industry sources.
Northrop Grumman is dropping plans to bid for the
Orbital Space Plane prime contract and has entered discussions with Lockheed
Martin Corp. about a teaming arrangement on the program, industry sources said.
Such a move essentially would pit the Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman team
against Boeing Co. for the multibillion-dollar contract.
What this would mean for Northrop Grumman’s current
Orbital Space Plane partner, Orbital Sciences Corp., is not immediately clear.
Orbital Sciences spokesman Barron Beneski could not be reached immediately for
comment.
Billed by NASA as the nation’s next space vehicle,
the Orbital Space Plane would launch atop an expendable rocket and be used to
ferry astronaut crews to and from the international space station. Plans call
for fielding an early space station crew rescue version of the vehicle by 2010,
but NASA is considering moving up that schedule by two years.
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| Four concepts for the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) design released by NASA.
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| Orbital Sciences Corporation and Northrop Grumman are teamed to address NASA needs for an Orbital Space Plane. CREDIT: Orbital Sciences
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| Boeing engineers are designing the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) for NASA. The company is one of three contractor teams developing proposals for the OSP which includes the spacecraft, ground operations and all supporting technologies needed to conduct missions to and from the International Space Station. CREDIT: Boeing
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| Artist concept of a cutaway view of the X-37 showing its components. The X-37 launch vehicle experimental demonstrator will operate in both the orbital and reentry phases of flight. This unpiloted Boeing-built ship could help in designing the Orbital Space Plane by flying and verifying certain technologies. CREDIT: NASA/Marshall
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Northrop Grumman spokesman Brooks McKinney confirmed
his company is in discussions with Lockheed Martin about teaming on the Orbital
Space Plane, but could not say whether the companies have notified NASA of the
proposed partnership.
“We aren’t prepared to discuss this relationship
because the relationship has not been formalized in terms of the roles and
responsibilities,” McKinney said.
Northrop Grumman’s move comes as NASA prepares to
release a formal request for proposal to industry in November with the intent to
award the prime contract for the Orbital Space Plane around mid-2004. Northrop
Grumman, Boeing and Lockheed Martin are each currently under contract to NASA
working on candidate designs for the Orbital Space Plane.
NASA announced Sept. 23 that it had completed a more
detailed set of technical specifications for the Orbital Space Plane in advance
of the planned solicitation.
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%20for%20NASA.%20The%20company%20is%20one%20of%20three%20contractor%20teams%20developing%20proposals%20for%20the%20OSP%20which%20includes%20the%20spacecraft,%20ground%20operations%20and%20all%20supporting%20technologies%20needed%20to%20conduct%20missions%20to%20and%20from%20the%20International%20Space%20Station.%20CREDIT:%20Boeing)
