Dream Chaser (Credit: NASA)

SPARKS, Nev., March 11, 2014 (SNC PR) – Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) announces the expansion of its Dream Chaser^® program team and scope of work in Huntsville, Ala., with the signing of a Space Act Agreement (SAA) Annex with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and a Teaming Agreement with Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE).

During today’s press conference at MSFC, Mark N. Sirangelo, corporate vice president and head of SNC’s Space Systems, presented details of the two new agreements that advance the Dream Chaser spacecraft to enable science payload operations and technology development in support of continued growth and utilization of space and the International Space Station (ISS).

(more…)

A note from Sierra Nevada Corporation: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) will host a news conference on Tuesday, March 11, to announce a newly expanded Space Act Agreement. Under this new agreement, Marshall will provide technical expertise to SNC as it plans for integration of on-orbit science payloads on its Dream Chaser spacecraft. Teledyne Brown Engineering, which will provide support to SNC under a Teaming […]

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. and SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc. (TBE), a subsidiary of Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY), announced today that it finalized its strategic alliance agreement with Aerojet-General Corporation, a GenCorp (NYSE:GY) company.

The agreement, which was signed prior to the opening of the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, establishes a formal plan for Teledyne Brown and Aerojet to cooperate in the development and production of propulsion systems for launch and in-space applications. The strategic plan has been anticipated since a formal announcement was made on June 2, 2011 by the two companies to pursue this endeavor. The alliance is a departure from the historical single-source method of rocket design and manufacturing, and provides the customer with improved processes and lower-cost solutions.

(more…)

Sen. Richard Shelby

In an effort to improve the prospects of contractors in his own state, Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby is urging that NASA undertake competitive bidding for parts of the Space Launch System, specifically solid-rocket boosters produced in Utah. In a letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, the Republican senator wrote:

I am concerned, therefore, that NASA is considering a Space Launch System architecture that relies on a booster system for the Space Shuttle. I am particularly concerned that this plan might be implemented without a meaningful competitive process. Designing a Space Launch System for heavy lift that relies on existing Shuttle boosters ties NASA, once again, to the high fixed costs associated with segmented solids. Moreover, I have seen no evidence that foregoing competition for the booster system will speed development of the SLS or, conversely, that introducing competition will slow the program down.

(more…)

ROCKET CITY SPACE PIONEERS PRESS RELEASE
Sept. 7, 2010

Today, the Rocket City Space Pioneers – a group of Huntsville businesses, educational institutions and non-profit organizations – announced their official entry into the Google Lunar X PRIZE, a $30 million competition that challenges space professionals and engineers from across the globe to build and launch to the Moon a privately funded spacecraft capable of completing a series of exploration and transmission tasks. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, Team Rocket City Space Pioneers is comprised of seven organizations and is among twenty-three teams from a dozen countries that are registered in the competition.

The Rocket City Space Pioneers, led by Huntsville-based company Dynetics and comprised of Huntsville partners Teledyne Brown Engineering, Andrews Space, Spaceflight Services, Draper Laboratory, the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation, will compete for the Google Lunar X PRIZE with their lunar lander. Leading the team is Tim Pickens, Dynetics’ chief propulsion engineer. No stranger to space competition, Pickens was also the lead propulsion engineer for the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE winning SpaceShipOne team.

(more…)