Aug 10 2007
From The Space Library
NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin named Richard J. Gilbrech as Associate Administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, succeeding Scott J. Horowitz, who had announced in July his intention to leave NASA by 1 October. The Directorate was responsible for designing the next generation of spacecraft, intended to return astronauts to the Moon and, eventually, to transport human explorers to Mars. Gilbrech had joined NASA in 1991 and had played a key role in helping NASA solve the problem of the Shuttle’s dangerous foam debris, which had caused the Columbia tragedy in 2003. Griffin also named Robert D. Cabana, Deputy Director of NASA’s JSC in Houston since 2004, to replace Gilbrech as Director of NASA’s SSC, where he would oversee all operations of NASA’s primary center for rocket-propulsion testing and of the Applied Research and Technology Project Office. NASA had selected Cabana as an astronaut in 1985. He had flown twice as a Space Shuttle pilot and twice as a Shuttle commander, accumulating more than 1,000 hours in space.
NASA, “NASA Administrator Announces Senior Leadership Appointments,” news release 07-175, 10 August 2007, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/aug/HQ_07175_Gilbrech_Cabana.html (accessed 21 June 2010); Mark Carreau, “NASA Names New Leader for Moon Exploration,” Houston Chronicle, 12 August 2007.
NASA announced that it had signed a contract with ATK for the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the first stage of the Ares-I and Ares-V launch vehicles. NASA planned to use Ares-I to launch the Orion CEV, which would replace the current Space Shuttle fleet. NASA intended to use Ares-V, a heavy-lift launch vehicle, to launch a variety of payloads for science and exploration activities. ATK planned to develop the Ares-I first stage as a five-segment SRB, basing it on the four-segment design that the company had used for the Space Shuttle. The company planned to draw on current hardware, facilities, and manufacturing equipment qualified for human-rated SRBs. The contract, valued at US$1.8 billion, continued work that had begun in April 2006 under a temporary agreement, extending the performance period through December 2014. It included the delivery of five ground-static-test motors, two ground-vibration-test articles, and four flight-test stages.
NASA, “NASA Awards First Stage Contract for Ares Rockets,” contract release C07-36, 10 August 2007, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/aug/HQ_C07036_Ares_first_stage.html (accessed 14 June 2010); Edmond Lococo, “Alliant Techsystems Wins $1.8 Billion NASA Contract,” Bloomberg, 11 August 2007.
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