Lockheed Takes Control of Orion Launch Abort Motor

摘要

Hoping to avoid further delays to the first flight test of NASA's Orion crew capsule, prime contractor Lockheed Martin has wrested management of the spacecraft's Launch Abort System steering motor from subcontractor Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., according to industry sources familiar with the program.rnOrion's Pad Abort 1 flight test, originally planned for September 2008 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., and now scheduled for late January at the earliest, is intended to demonstrate the capsule's emergency Launch Abort System (LAS), which is designed to.whisk the capsule away from its Ares 1 launcher if there is a problem during liftoff. NASA officials say the first Pad Abort test has been delayed several times, due in part to technical problems with the abort system's attitude control motor, being developed by Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems (ATK) under Orbital's management. Orbital has overall responsibility for the IAS.