NASA's Formal RFP Expected In June

As they say, the early bird gets the worm... and Raytheon Company told ANN Friday the company plans to submit a proposal as the prime contractor to partner with NASA on the development and manufacture of the Instrument Unit Avionics on NASA's Ares I, the Crew Launch Vehicle that will carry astronauts into orbit when the Space Shuttle is retired in 2010. NASA is expected to distribute an official request for proposal for the Ares I Instrument Unit Avionics in early June.

"Raytheon is uniquely positioned to support the NASA design team at Marshall Space Flight Center on a program that is as bold and innovative as the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle," said Louise Francesconi, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "Our technical expertise, innovative solutions, mature manufacturing processes and more than 40 years of space experience make us the right partner for NASA."

Raytheon has appointed former astronaut Don McMonagle, vice president of Quality & Mission Effectiveness at Raytheon Missile Systems, to lead the company's pursuit of the Ares I Instrument Unit Avionics contract.

Along with his career as a test pilot in the US Air Force, McMonagle served as a crew member on three shuttle missions and commanded the STS-66 mission.

"Raytheon brings a legacy of innovation and a customer-focused culture to support NASA on this significant step toward our destiny in space exploration," McMonagle said. "We will partner with NASA to make the space exploration vision a reality by providing transferable processes and an expanded portfolio of industry-leading suppliers who are as eager as we are to help NASA achieve the Ares I objectives."

Raytheon states the company offers skilled engineering and program management professionals and the transferable manufacturing processes required to maintain and establish sophisticated space system manufacturing capabilities. The company also notes it has delivered more than one million missiles that perform in mission-critical situations for customers worldwide.

To develop its proposal, Raytheon is working in Huntsville, AL with Dynetics, an industry-leading expert in radar system analysis and engineering technical support for tactical weapon systems.

Raytheon has developed and deployed space-related technologies and solutions for customers in global civil, defense and intelligence markets for over 40 years.

FMI: www.raytheon.com, www.nasa.gov