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NASA Selects Three Western Companies Out of Five U.S. Companies to Mature Artemis
Lander Concepts
NASA has selected five U.S. companies to help the agency enable a steady pace of crewed trips to the lunar surface under the agency’s Artemis program. These companies will make advancements toward sustainable human land- ing system concepts, conduct risk-reduction activities, and provide feedback on NASA’s requirements to cultivate industry capabili- ties for crewed lunar landing missions.
The awards under the Next Space Technolo- gies for Exploration Partnerships (Next- STEP-2) Appendix N broad agency announce- ment are firm fixed-price, milestone-based contracts. The total combined value for the awards is $146 million, and the work will be conducted over the next 15 months. The three western companies that received awards and their award values are: Blue Origin Fed- eration of Kent, Washington, $25.6 million, Lockheed Martin of Littleton, Colorado, $35.2 million and SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, $9.4 million.
The selected companies will develop lander design concepts, evaluating their perfor- mance, design, construction standards, mis- sion assurance requirements, interfaces, safety, crew health accommodations, and medi- cal capabilities. The companies will also mitigate lunar lander risks by conducting critical component tests and advancing the maturity of key technologies.
The work from these companies will ulti- mately help shape the strategy and require- ments for a future NASA’s solicitation to provide regular astronaut transportation from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon.
Aptera Looks Ahead to Manufac-
turing Phase
Aptera Motors Corp., the Sorrento Val- ley, CA. company that hopes to mass-produce a three-wheeled electric vehicle that can be powered by the sun, announced a new hire recently. The business brought Pablo Ucar on board as vice president of production and procurement.
At one point Ucar held an executive role at EV maker Faraday Future. In his new role, he will decide how to best produce Aptera’s unique vehicle in volume.
The business has more than 11,000 pre- orders for its EV.
Chris Anthony, co-CEO of the company, said in a recent interview that Aptera is on the hunt for 80,000 to 120,000 square feet of industrial space that it can turn into a factory. At the moment, demand is high for industrial real es- tate in San Diego.
The executives face a variety of challenges, including the state of global supply chains, which are still recovering from the effects of COVID-19.
Lightweight composite materials and an aero- dynamic design increase the three-wheeler’s efficiency and range.
Kratos to Supply, Support
Target Drones
The U.S. Air Force awarded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. a $338.1 million contract for subscale aerial targets. Specifi- cally, the deal covers production of BQM-167A target drones from Lots 17-21 as well as out- of-warranty repairs and contractor logistics support. Work will be performed in Sacramento and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2027. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition, and fiscal 2021 procurement funds in the amount of $30.5 million were obligated at the time of award.
Lockheed Martin Grows in Palm-
dale, CA
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has com- pleted construction of a high-tech manufacturing facility in Palmdale, home to its Skunk Works operations.
The 215,000-square-foot factory will incor- porate digital tools, robotics, artificial in- telligence and augmented reality to reduce the need for hard tooling.
Investment in the factory began in 2018. The aerospace giant said it has expanded its California workforce by more than 1,500 since then, and the new Palmdale factory includes of- fice and break spaces to accommodate more than 450 employees. It’s one of four manufacturing facilities the aerospace firm is opening in the U.S. this year.
Company officials declined to provide details on what kind of aircraft will be made there or how many units might be produced in a given year.
“Classified work will be done in the facility,” Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Melissa Dalton said via email. “While I can’t share any details about what specifically we’ll be working on there, it will follow in the Skunk Works tradition of in- novative solutions to urgent national needs.”
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