Ground Launch Contest Imminent
By Guy Norris
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - Boeing expects NASA to issue a draft request for proposals for its exploration ground launch services (EGLS) contract sometime between May 19 and May 31.
The contract "picks up where the space shuttle flights stop" says Boeing Space Exploration Constellation Transition Director David Bethay, and has not been delayed by the recent decision to conduct a "blue ribbon" panel review of NASA's manned space programs. The RFP will cover a combination of eight ground system requirements including command and control, launch platforms, payload processing and checkout, transportation and recovery systems.
The EGLS "will validate everything works together as the flight hardware comes in, as well as cover integration and launch and recovery of the elements in the Atlantic and Pacific," Bethay says. Covering Constellation test, buildup and initial missions between 2010 and 2020, EGLS should "include the first two missions to the moon," he adds. These are provisionally timed for 2018 and 2019.
It will also cover all the early Ares 1 test flights from 2014 onward, as well as the first manned Orion flights to the International Space Station.
Bidders for EGLS will include "all the usual suspects," Bethay said. Aside from Boeing, these will be Lockheed Martin, the jointly-held United Space Alliance company, and Northrop Grumman.
Artist's concept of Orion: NASA
