New Orleans – Boeing will use NASA's Michoud Assembly Center in New Orleans to produce an avionics system that will control the Ares I rocket intended to send astronauts back to the moon.
NASA yesterday awarded Boeing a 799.5 million dollar contract to produce the system that will provide guidance, navigation and control for the rocket until it reaches orbit.
Boeing says it expects the project to employ up to 20 production workers at Michoud. The company says about 100 technical personnel will be employed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville for production and engineering support.
The deal is the final major contract award for the Ares I program that will launch the Orion capsule and service module. Those will be built at Michoud by Lockheed Martin Corporation.
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