J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241
j.d.harrington@nasa.gov
Candrea Thomas
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov
Chris Chavez
United Launch Alliance, Denver
303-269-5550
chris.s.chavez@ulalaunch.com
RELEASE: 11-232
NASA BEGINS COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIP WITH UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE
DENVER -- Through a new agreement, United Launch Alliance (ULA) will
provide technical information to NASA about using the Atlas V rocket
to launch astronauts into space. The announcement was made Monday at
the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
"I am truly excited about the addition of ULA to NASA's Commercial
Crew Development Program team," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
said. "Having ULA on board may speed the development of a commercial
crew transportation system for the International Space Station,
allowing NASA to concentrate its resources on exploring beyond low
Earth orbit."
NASA and ULA's unfunded Space Act Agreement (SAA) requires ULA to
provide data on the Atlas V, a flight-proven expendable launch
vehicle used by NASA and the Department of Defense for critical space
missions.
NASA will share its human spaceflight experience with ULA to advance
crew transportation system capabilities and the draft human
certification requirements. ULA will provide NASA feedback about
those requirements, including providing input on the technical
feasibility and cost effectiveness of NASA's proposed certification
approach.
"This unfunded SAA will look at the Atlas V to understand its design
risks, its capabilities, how it can be used within the context of
flying our NASA crew and maturing ULA's designs for the Emergency
Detection System and launch vehicle processing and launch
architectures under a crewed configuration," said Ed Mango, NASA's
Commercial Crew Program manager.
The majority of the work will be completed by the end of this year. As
part of the agreement, NASA will:
-- participate in milestone and technical review briefings and provide
technical feedback on milestone completion
-- assist in identification of risks and possible mitigation
strategies
ULA will:
-- continue to advance the Atlas V CTS concept, including design
maturation and analyses
-- conduct ULA program reviews as planned
-- perform a Design Equivalency Review
-- develop Hazard Analyses unique for human spaceflight
-- develop a Probabilistic Risk Assessment
-- document an Atlas V CTS certification baseline
-- conduct Systems Requirements Review
"We believe this effort will demonstrate to NASA that our systems are
fully compliant with NASA requirements for human spaceflight," said
George Sowers, ULA's vice president of business development. "ULA
looks forward to continued work with NASA to develop a U.S.
commercial crew space transportation capability providing safe,
reliable, and cost effective access to and return from low Earth
orbit and the International Space Station."
In 2010, NASA awarded $6.7 million to ULA to accompany its own $1.3
million investment to develop an Emergency Detection System prototype
test bed. The EDS will monitor critical launch vehicle and spacecraft
systems and issue status, warning and abort commands to crew during
their mission to low Earth orbit. EDS is the sole significant element
necessary for flight safety to meet the requirements to certify ULA's
launch vehicles for human spaceflight.
For information on the United Launch Alliance, visit:
For information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial
-end-
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