Lockheed Martin wins NASA contract.

(From AFX Europe (Focus))

WASHINGTON (AFX) - NASA's newest lunar spaceship will look like and operate like an old Apollo capsule. But in hiring a new builder of the Apollo-like ship, the nation's space agency passed over the companies that made the original capsule and lunar lander.

NASA on Thursday gave a multibillion dollar contract to an aerospace rival, Lockheed Martin Corp., to build a ship to send astronauts back to the moon and maybe on to Mars.

Unlike Apollo and earlier spacecraft perched atop rockets, the Orion crew exploration vehicle will be reusable. NASA estimated the cost at $7.5 billion through 2019 for likely eight separate spaceships to replace its shuttle fleet. NASA's chief described Orion as "Apollo on steroids."

The last time NASA awarded a manned spaceship contract to Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, Md., was in 1996 for a spaceplane that was supposed to replace the space shuttle. NASA spent $912 million and the ship, called X-33, never got built because of technical problems.

Lockheed Martin Vice President John Karas said his company will succeed with Orion compared to its failure with X-33, because "we're not shooting as far... I'd say it (Orion) is within reach."

While Orion won't break much new technological ground, Karas said Lockheed is pleased because of where Orion is going: "For me it's about exploring; it's about adventure. It's great to be with NASA and go out and explore."