Says Ares Upper Stages WILL Be Built At Michoud

NASA has renewed its commitment to build spaceship and rocket components in New Orleans. The nation's space agency has not given up on its Michoud Assembly Facility on the city's east side, and in fact sees it as an opportunity to help the city recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Evidence is found in NASA's recent proposal for the upper stage of the Ares rockets. Bidders have been put on notice that the upper stage of the rocket will be assembled at Michoud... regardless of whether Boeing, Lockheed Martin or another company has the winning bid.

"There's a very pressing need to get jobs there," said David Smith, a senior manager with Boeing, to Florida Today.

The paper reports Smith has led an effort for Boeing to set up offices in New Orleans ASAP, so the company can better compete against Lockheed -- which already operates the Michoud Assembly facility.

Boeing last year set up a Space Exploration Office at the University of New Orleans. The office's goals, in addition to working to land big contracts, include identifying potential suppliers and support companies in the New Orleans area.

"This is an opportunity not only to do something important for NASA, but to support New Orleans," Smith said.

In addition to the new projects, the Michoud facility will continue to build external tanks for the remaining space shuttle missions.

FMI: www.nasa.gov, Lockheed Martin's Michoud Site, www.boeing.com