Shuttle Job Cuts Begin

Lockheed Martin informs external tank workers of possible job cuts, Huntsville Times

“Lockheed Martin Corp. today informed its external fuel tank workforce in Huntsville and New Orleans that jobs on the space shuttle support program would be cut starting in the fall, according to a company spokesman. About 100 Lockheed Martin people work on the program in Huntsville, said Marion LaNasa, spokesman for Lockheed at the Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans where the aerospace giant manufactures the 15-story fuel tank for NASA.”

Statement by John Chapman, External Tank Project Manager, About Work Force Reductions at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

“While the reductions associated with the shuttle’s retirement will result in fewer people doing NASA work at Michoud, the agency plans to locate significant work there in the future. Boeing employees will manufacture and assemble the Ares I upper stage, and conduct avionics systems integration and checkout. Lockheed Martin will build structures for the Orion crew exploration capsule as well as the capsule’s Launch Abort System. In future years, the Ares V core stage and Earth departure stage, which will be needed for the return to the moon, will be built at Michoud.”