Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                       May 14, 1990
(Phone:  202/453-4164)

Jerry Berg
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone:  205/544-6540)


RELEASE:  90-68

NASA AWARDS CONTRACT TO DEVELOP ADVANCED SOLID ROCKET MOTOR


     NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., on 
Friday, May 11, awarded an approximately 5-year-long contract to 
Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., Sunnyvale, Calif., for the design, 
development, test and evaluation of the Space Shuttle advanced 
solid rocket motor (ASRM).

     The new Shuttle motor will be phased in, during the mid-
1990s, as a replacement for the current redesigned solid rocket 
motor.  It will provide improved safety, reliability and 
performance for the Shuttle flight program well into the 21st 
Century.

     The value of the basic contract is $971 million and calls 
for production of 20 of the new rocket motors -- one as a 
nonflying, form-and-fit "pathfinder," seven for ground test-
firing and qualification, and 12 (6 flight sets) for Shuttle 
launches.

     Under an option for production of additional ASRM flight 
motors, NASA could order up to 88 motors (44 sets) to support the 
Shuttle flight program.  The additional production option could 
be valued at up to $1.388 billion if the maximum of 88 motors is 
purchased.

     Lockheed is teamed with Aerojet Space Boosters Co., 
Sacramento, Calif., as its principal subcontractor for 
development of the advanced motor, and with Rust International, 
Birmingham, Ala., as the facility construction contractor.

     Preliminary design efforts on the project have been underway 
since December 1989 under interim contracts between NASA and 
Lockheed -- one for hardware and the other for facilities design 
activities.

     The development schedule calls for delivery of the first 
flight set of motors in 1995.  NASA plans to phase-in the ASRM 
hardware over approximately a 3-year period for replacement of 
the redesigned solid rocket motor.

     Facilities for production and testing of the ASRM hardware 
will be constructed under a companion facilities contract with 
Lockheed, planned for award in the near future.  The facilities 
construction contract is to be an approximately $292-million 
effort, plus an additional $236 million to provide for purchase 
and installation of tooling and equipment for ASRM production.  

     Major facilities to be built for the project will be for 
production of motor segments, nozzles and associated hardware, at 
a rate of up to 30 motors per year.  The facilities will be 
constructed at the Yellow Creek site in extreme northeastern 
Mississippi near the city of Iuka. 

     Specialized facilities also will be constructed at the John 
C. Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss., for ground 
testing of the ASRM.  The Stennis Center long has been NASA's 
primary testing center for liquid fueled rocket engines and now 
will have the unique test stands and apparatus required for 
static firing of powerful solid rocket motors.  It also is 
planned that a part of the manufacturing effort will be done 
utilizing NASA's existing facilities at the Michoud Assembly 
Facility outside New Orleans.

     The most significant benefits of the new solid rocket motor 
will be in enhanced reliability, safety and performance for the 
Shuttle system.  The safety and reliability advances will be 
realized through quality and reproducibility improvements, which 
in turn will result from using state-of-the-art automation and 
process-control technology.

     In terms of performance, the new motor is intended to 
provide the Shuttle with a capability to lift heavier payloads 
into orbit, with a design goal of a 12,000-pound increase over 
current payload delivery performance.

     Signing of the contract between NASA and Lockheed concludes 
the process of definitization or spelling out in detail the types 
of work the contractor is required to perform, as well as the 
resources necessary to accomplish the job as specified.

     Lockheed was selected after a review of the technical, 
management and cost proposals received in response to NASA's 
August 1988 request for proposals.  

     Other subcontractors, in addition to Aerojet and Rust 
International, are:  Babcock and Wilcox, headquartered in New 
Orleans, La. (fabrication of steel cases); Thiokol Corp., Ogden, 
Utah (production of motor nozzles at NASA's Michoud Assembly 
Facility in New Orleans); and Lockheed Austin Division, Austin, 
Texas (supply of support equipment).

     The Marshall Space Flight Center has management 
responsibility for the ASRM and will directly manage performance 
of the contract.