spacetoday.net: Boeing wins Ares 1 upper stage contract

Posted: Wed, Aug 29, 2007, 6:37 AM ET (1037 GMT)
Ares 1 launch illustration (NASA)

NASA has selected Boeing to manufacture the upper stage of its Ares 1 crew launch vehicle, the space agency announced Tuesday. The contract, valued at $514.7 million, covers design team support as well as manufacturing of test units and six production stages; production options would raise the total contract value to $1.125 billion. The second stage, powered by a single J-2X engine provided by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne under a separate contract, will help place the Orion crew exploration vehicle into low Earth orbit. the award was a key win for Boeing, which had lost out on previous major NASA exploration program contracts, including Orion. Boeing beat out a competing bid from a team consisting of ATK, Lockheed Martin, and Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne.