Rocky Mountain News March 25, 2006
Lockheed will rely on Houston
Spacecraft contract would mean 1,200 jobs there, 300 here
By Roger Fillion
Houston would be the big winner of jobs and responsibilities if Lockheed Martin Corp. wins a contract to build a next-generation spacecraft - but the Denver area would gain hundreds of jobs and play a significant role, too.
Lockheed disclosed Friday it would shift its main hub of operations for developing and building a crew exploration vehicle to Houston from Jefferson County if the company beats a Northrop Grumman-Boeing team for the multibillion-dollar NASA contract.
Houston would get 1,200 new jobs, or about half the Lockheed work force slated for the CEV program. The Denver area would, as reported, gain at least 300 jobs involving mainly high-paid engineers.
The CEV would be NASA's newest human spacecraft since the space shuttle first lifted off in 1981. It would be the first space vehicle to return Americans to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. NASA eventually plans to use the CEV to send Americans to Mars.
Up to now, Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Jefferson County has been in charge of overseeing the company's efforts to win the high-stakes contract to develop and build the CEV. At a news conference in Houston, Lockheed executives said the company would set up its CEV "program office" adjacent to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston if the company, indeed, wins.
"The godhead is here in Houston," said John Karas, vice president of space exploration for Lockheed Martin.
Employees would perform systems engineering, software development and testing.
Lockheed executives said they chose Houston because of its proximity to the Johnson Space Center, which is responsible for NASA's CEV program and the space agency's bid to return astronauts to the moon.
"You want to be with your customer," Karas said.
The executives also cited the area's skilled aerospace work force, which has been involved in the shuttle program, as well as the company's existing facilities there. While Lockheed officials declined to put a dollar value on the amount of financial aid Texas would extend to the company, they did say such incentives played a role, too.
"The incentives being proposed by the state were an important factor in our decision," said Lockheed spokeswoman Joan Underwood. She added that financial sweeteners weren't the No. 1 factor.
Aside from Houston's and Jefferson County's roles, Lockheed officials have said they would perform final assembly and testing on the CEV at Florida's Kennedy Space Center - a move that would create 300 to 400 jobs. The company would also build large "structural" components at facilities in Michoud, La.
Engineers at the company's Jefferson County campus would be responsible for designing and piecing together the CEV's multitude of components. About 150 employees there have been working on the CEV proposal that Lockheed submitted to NASA this month. The agency is expected to pick a winner this summer or fall.
John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, said it made political sense for Lockheed to parcel out its work among four states.
That would allow the company to leverage state and federal officials who could try to persuade NASA to give the job to Lockheed.
"These are all places that already have a significant NASA contractor presence. And so they have an established political support structure," Pike said.
Northrop Grumman and Boeing have declined to spell out where their CEV operations would be located.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has proposed financial incentives valued at $45.5 million for the Lockheed and Northrop Grumman-Boeing teams, depending on which one is the victor. Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office must still approve his state's undisclosed incentive package for Lockheed.
But Jim Reinhartsen, president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, said at the news conference that the package would be "one of the largest" ever for the state.
Colorado has offered Lockheed $1.1 million in job training.
"Three hundred highly paid engineering jobs is terrific," said Jeff Holwell, division director of business development at Colorado's Office of Economic Development.
Jefferson County is expected to offer an additional $2 million to $3 million in aid, according to Preston Gibson, president of the Jefferson Economic Council.
© Copyright 2006, Rocky Mountain News
