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Release: 00-303

NASA awards $1.15 billion contract for Shuttle External Tanks

NASA and Lockheed Martin Space Systems, of New Orleans, La., have completed negotiations for production of 35 additional Super Lightweight External Tanks for the Space Shuttle Program.

The six-year contract, worth approximately $1.15 billion, includes the manufacture, assembly, test and delivery of the Super Lightweight Tanks and the operations and maintenance of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The contract also includes activities at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center of Huntsville, Ala., and Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

"I am pleased with the profit structure of this contract which is designed to assure the delivery of a quality product and to reward the contractor and the employees on the basis of performance," said Jerry Smelser, manager of the External Tank Project Office at the Marshall Center. "In my opinion, the negotiation process has resulted in a win-win contract. This is a major milestone for Lockheed-Martin, the External Tank Project Office, for the Center and for the Space Shuttle Program."

This sixth production of tanks will be the first comprised totally of Super Lightweight Tanks.

This latest version of the tank — which flew for the first time in June 1998 — is the same size as the tank it replaces, but is about 7,500 pounds (3,401.9 kilograms) lighter. The weight reduction allows the Shuttle to carry more payload.

The Super Lightweight Tank features major changes in materials and design. Its liquid hydrogen tank and the liquid oxygen tank are constructed of a new aluminum lithium — a lighter, stronger material than the metal alloy used to manufacture previous External Tanks.

The External Tank, which holds the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen for the Shuttle’s three main engines, is the largest single component of the Space Shuttle and the only part of the Shuttle that is not reused. Standing 154 feet (46.9 meters) tall, the gigantic rust-colored tank is taller than a 15-story building and is as wide as a silo with a diameter of about 27 1/2 feet (8 meters). During launch, the tank also acts as the structural backbone for the Shuttle orbiter and Solid Rocket Boosters attached to it.

The first tank of the sixth production is scheduled for delivery to the Kennedy Space Center in 2002.

Marshall is NASA’s lead Center for development of space transportation and propulsion systems.