Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, in a heated competition to design and build NASA's next manned ships and cargo carriers, wants to assemble and test the rockets in Florida, the company said Wednesday.
The deal depends on Florida legislators approving a $45.5 million incentive package and on Lockheed Martin winning NASA's approval for its proposed Crew Exploration Vehicle.
A partnership of Northrop Grumman and Boeing Co. is competing for the work as well. Proposals are due in March, and NASA is expected to select a team this summer.
The United States is retiring its fleet of space shuttles, which have operated since 1981. Decommissioning is expected to begin in 2008 and be complete by the end of 2010.
President Bush has called for a replacement vehicle to be flying by 2014, though NASA plans to start using the new launcher as early as 2012.
Incentives are key
John Karas, Lockheed's vice president of space exploration, said the incentive package proposed by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother, was key to Lockheed's decision to locate vehicle assembly, systems integration and testing at the Kennedy Space Center. The center also will serve as the launch site for the new ships.
Lockheed proposes refurbishing the space center's operations and checkout facility, used for Apollo spacecraft work in the 1960s.
The Florida incentives package includes $35 million for facilities upgrades or construction and $10.5 million for worker training, Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings said.
The work would add about 350 jobs to the local economy, Karas said. Overall, however, the total number of jobs stemming from NASA's human spaceflight operations at Kennedy Space Center will fall from the 14,500 civilian and contractor positions now filled to prepare the shuttles for launch and operate and maintain the space center.
Returning to the moon
NASA wants to use the Crew Exploration Vehicles to fly first to the space station and then to the moon. Future versions would be tapped for Mars voyages.
The vehicles would be launched on new rockets derived from space shuttle solid-fuel boosters and disposable main engines.
Karas said the company will soon announce sites where the new vehicles would be designed and manufactured, if Lockheed wins the NASA contract.
