Boeing Courts Ares I
Suppliers To Provide NASA With Best Value
(6 February 2008) The Boeing Company
today hosted an aerospace industry conference in Huntsville, Ala., to recruit
the nation's best suppliers for the Ares I Instrument Unit Avionics (IUA)
contract.
As prime contractor, Boeing will produce, deliver and
install avionics systems for the Ares I rocket. The system consists of onboard
computers, flight controls, communications equipment, and other instruments and
software for monitoring and adjusting the rocket's speed and position during
flight. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville is leading the
overall design effort.
The Ares I Industry Day conference drew more than
140 suppliers of all sizes and started the process of finding the best
suppliers for NASA.
"We promised NASA we would encourage early supplier
involvement while using competition to provide the best IUA solutions. That
means giving NASA the opportunity to benefit from Boeing's buying power and
expertise," said Dwight Potter, Boeing Ares I IUA program
manager.
Boeing is looking to attract suppliers for items such as
avionics components, wire harnesses and ground support
equipment.
"Suppliers are an integral part of our Ares I program team,
and our success depends on their participation and performance," Potter
said.
Boeing provided attending suppliers with information about the
Ares I avionics requirements and outlined plans to issue requests for
information and proposals.
"We plan to distribute information requests
in February with some preliminary NASA specifications to solicit initial
comments and innovative ideas from industry. We can then work with NASA to
finalise the requirements, eventually leading to draft and final requests for
proposals (RFPs) in the coming months," said Ray Robin, Boeing Exploration
Launch Systems supplier management. "We hope by including suppliers fully in
the process, they will better understand our needs and provide us with
innovative solutions. Following the RFPs, we'll go through the source-selection
process later this year."
Boeing also targeted small businesses during
the Industry Day event, recognising the considerable benefits that small
businesses offer.
"On the Ares program, we are focused on exceeding our
small business goals and want to help small businesses develop the
infrastructure needed to take on larger, more complex projects," said
Robin.
Boeing operates one of the world's largest, most diverse global
supplier networks in support of its space, commercial and defence programs.
Through its supplier network, Boeing can ensure NASA benefits from the latest
technologies while improving quality, cost and delivery schedules.
A
unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the
world's largest space and defence businesses specialising in innovative and
capabilities-driven customer solutions. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing
Integrated Defense Systems is a US$ 32.1 billion business with 72,000 employees
world-wide.
(source: Boeing)
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