Our Space Systems Heritage
Since the beginning of the Space Age, Boeing has designed, developed, built, and operated both human and robotic space vehicles as well as supporting hardware. The organization's legacy began with Project Mercury and continued through the X-15, the Gemini project to Apollo and on to the space shuttle and International Space Station.
The Boeing Company today is composed of elements of its lineage companies. In December 1996, The Boeing Company acquired Rockwell International Corporation's Aerospace and Defense units, uniting the two companies. Rockwell's space systems, aircraft division, Rocketdyne (which has since been sold to Pratt and Whitney in August 2005), Autonetics, missile systems, and aircraft modification were renamed Boeing North American, Inc., and operated as a Boeing subsidiary. On Aug. 1, 1997, Boeing, with its North American component, merged with McDonnell Douglas Corporation.
NASA selected McDonnell to build America's first human-controlled spacecraft for Project Mercury on Jan. 12, 1959. The goal was to place a human in orbital flight around the earth, investigate human abilities to function in the environment of space and recover the human and the spacecraft safely.
On April 12, 1961, the Russians launched cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into Earth orbit, initiating an unprecedented American effort not to lose the high ground. Astronaut Alan Shepard followed this first orbital flight less than a month later with a suborbital flight in a McDonnell-built Mercury spacecraft.
On Feb. 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in a Mercury spacecraft. Over the next several years, an inspired U.S. space program proceeded with the McDonnell two-man Gemini, perfecting techniques that incrementally built up on-orbit experience. This effort culminated with the North American Aviation (NAA) Apollo spacecraft, featuring a crew of three.
Boeing blazed the trail for humankind's greatest scientific feat -- the Apollo program. Meanwhile, Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and NAA collaborated to develop and produce the mammoth 363-foot Saturn V rocket that eventually propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the moon in 1969.
The entire Saturn V assembly, including the Apollo command, service and lunar module, was as tall as a 28-story building. NASA's vertical assembly building at Cape Kennedy--constructed for the Apollo mission and now used in the space shuttle program -- is as tall as the Washington Monument and has 50 percent more volume than the Pentagon. Boeing also provided the technical staff at Cape Kennedy, responsible for checkout support during final assembly.
All 15 S-1Cs were built between 1965 and 1975. Twelve were used on the Apollo mission, and the 13th, in 1973, placed Skylab in Earth orbit. The remaining rockets were placed on display.
Skylab capped the successful moon-landing program. Skylab astronauts made 10 spacewalks that included tasks to deploy the station's solar array and install a parasol sun shield to cool the station. Three long-duration flights studied the effects of space travel on the human body, made astronomical observations and performed earth sciences research. McDonnell Douglas outfitted the unique lab from a Saturn V upper stage. Skylab also served as a reminder that space flight was still risky. Shortly after launch, a meteoroid shield ripped away, taking one of the station's solar panels with it. Boeing and NASA engineers scrambled to save the station with some imaginative solutions later carried out by astronauts.
Through its heritage elements, the Boeing Company developed and built Enterprise (used for approach and landing tests only), Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor. While Rockwell designed and built the orbiters at facilities in Downey and Palmdale, Calif., McDonnell Douglas developed aft propulsion pods for orbital power and control and structural parts for the boosters. Boeing modified two 747s to transport shuttles between California and Florida and provided a 747 aircraft to help test the first Shuttle.
On April 12, 1981, decades of research into a reusable spacecraft finally became a reality when Space Shuttle Columbia made its first of four orbital flight tests. The space shuttle had its first operational mission in November 1982, when Columbia deployed two communications satellites.
The shuttle program quickly made important contributions to scientific research and also showed the feasibility of working in space. Today NASA, along with Boeing as a major subcontractor to United Space Alliance (USA is a 50/50 split between Boeing and Lockheed Martin), continues to operate three remaining space shuttles: Discovery, acquired in 1983; Atlantis, which arrived in 1985; and Endeavor, which joined the fleet in 1991. The space shuttle is needed to complete Boeing's most complex undertaking in its history, the International Space Station (ISS). The world's greatest flying machine plays the key role in assembling engineering's greatest achievement -- the ISS. The space shuttle will be retired in 2010 once assembly of the ISS is complete.
In August 1993, NASA selected Boeing as prime contractor for the ISS, a permanent orbiting laboratory in space and the largest international space venture ever undertaken. With a "space footprint" the size of a football field including the end zones, the space station averages an altitude of 220 statute miles.
The Boeing team was charged with design, development, physical and analytical integration, test, delivery, and launch of all U.S elements, including the living quarters, the laboratory module, and an airlock. Sixteen countries are involved in the International Space Station -- the United States, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Russia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In addition, The Boeing Company directs a national industry team comprising many major U.S. aerospace companies and hundreds of smaller subcontractors.
Fourteen shuttle flights are required to complete assembly of the station. Boeing engineers are involved in every step. From integrating shuttle payloads to ensuring a smooth construction process to operating the station, Boeing leads the way toward a permanent human presence in space.
As part of its Constellation program, The Boeing Company is competing to design and build NASA's upper stage and avionics of Ares I (Crew Launch Vehicle) and other exploration elements such as the Ares V (Cargo Launch Vehicle), Earth Departure Stage, lunar lander and various habitats.
Boeing has consolidated most of its space business under its Space Exploration division, headquartered in Houston. About 4,000 employees are located primarily in Texas, California, Alabama and Florida.
For more information, read the Space Heritage (PDF) overview.
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October 2006
Contact:
Edmund G. Memi
(281) 226-4029
edmund.g.memi@boeing.com