Upper Hand For Upper Stage Avionics For Boeing

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded an initial NASA contract valued at approximately $265 million. The company will produce the Ares I crew launch vehicle’s instrument unit avionics (IUA). This award follows Boeing’s selection as the Ares I upper stage production contractor in August. The IUA provides the guidance, navigation and control hardware for the new Ares I crew launch vehicle. It also serves as the “brains” behind the rocket’s ascent. The Ares I launches the Orion crew exploration vehicle, which will join other elements of NASA’s Constellation program to help propel astronauts to the moon by 2020.



Boeing will produce three IUA flight test units and six production units, with an option to produce four additional units per year from 2014 to 2016. Under the contract, Boeing will employ up to 100 technical personnel to support NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The center will lead the design for the upper stage and instrument unit avionics for Ares I, while Boeing provides production and engineering support. Boeing also expects to employ up to 20 production workers at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, where the IUA will be added to the upper stage—St. Louis, Missouri