Lockheed Aims For $8 Billion Or More NASA Contracts; Keen On Overseas Partners.

Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT] is poised to compete for some $8 billion or more annually in work that NASA will award in coming years, including the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) program, company space business leaders said.

On the upcoming CEV contract award, Lockheed Martin faces competition from a team of Northrop Grumman Corp. [NOC] as the prime contractor and The Boeing Co. [BA] as the main partner.

While NASA faces tight budget constraints, there is adequate money to press forward with a vision of space exploration that would include the first voyages beyond low Earth orbit in many years, according to John C. Karas, Lockheed vice president for space exploration.

"It's going to be a challenging budget," Karas said. But "we think there's [sufficient] money in there to continue the programs."

As that move to journey beyond low Earth orbit takes shape, there could be rich opportunities for Lockheed, a maker of major payload lifters, he observed. "When we go back to the moon, most of the money is in lift," he said.

Previously, some space programs have been marred by cost overruns and schedule deadlines missed, and NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said that can't be permitted to continue in a time of tight budgets, where every dollar counts.

That drew agreement from James H. Crocker, Lockheed vice president for civil space programs.