NASA Awards Launch Services for Lunar Mission (LRO)

July 28, 2006

Grey Hautaluoma
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0668

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468

CONTRACT RELEASE: C06-042

NASA AWARDS LAUNCH SERVICES FOR LUNAR MISSION

NASA announced today the award of launch services for the Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter mission to Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch
Services Inc. of Littleton, Colo. The total cost of launch services
for NASA, which includes spacecraft processing, and associated
mission integration services such as telemetry support and
mission-unique items is $136.2 million dollars.

The spacecraft are scheduled for launch aboard an Atlas V 401 rocket
from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station during a launch
window that opens on Oct. 31, 2008. The launch service was awarded in
support of the NASA Launch Services Program office at NASA's Kennedy
Space Center, Fla.

The orbiter will spend a year mapping the moon from an average
altitude of approximately 30 miles. It will carry six instruments and
one technology demonstration to perform investigations specifically
targeted for preparing for future human exploration. The instruments
are provided by various organizations throughout the United States,
and one is from Russia.

The mission is also carrying a secondary payload called Lunar CRater
Observation and Sensing Satellite. Its goals are to confirm the
presence or absence of water ice at the moon's south pole. NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the orbiter
project, and the agency's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field,
Calif., manages the sensing satellite project.

Principal work for tank manufacturing of the Atlas V first stage
booster will occur at the Lockheed Martin facilities in Waterton,
Colo.; tank fabrication for the Centaur upper stage will occur at the
Lockheed facilities in San Diego; assembly and testing of the launch
vehicle components will occur at the Lockheed aeronautics plant in
Denver.

The fabrication and assembly of the payload fairing, the interstate
and its associated adapter will be performed by Lockheed in
Harlingen, Texas.

The launch services for the LRO/LCROSS were acquired under the
existing NASA Launch Services indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity
contract using a launch service task order procedure.

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home


-end-

.

Relevant Pages