STS-114

Even as Space ShuttleDiscovery safely toucheddown before dawn August 9at Edwards Air Force Base,teams at Michoud had alreadyformed to explore the reasonfor unexpected foam loss onsome areas of the ExternalTank.

Despite the handful oflosses, the ET project hadmuch to be proud of.

In a General Assembly aweek after liftoff, Return toFlight Manager RonWetmore praised employees,listing everything that hadgone right on STS-114 froman ET retrofit standpoint.

• No foam loss from re-applied 10 feet of PAL ramp

• An essentially clean

LH2/Intertank flange

• An instrumentation packagethat provided important dataabout PAL ramp environ-ments

• No ice on bipod heater

• No ice on forward LiquidOxygen feedline bellowsheater and minimal frostbuild-up on drip lip

• No foam loss on longeroncloseout

• 80 percent performanceimprovement in Orbiterimpacts

Wetmore also noted fiveareas where foam came off thetank: the Liquid HydrogenProtuberance Airloads (PAL)ramp, left bipod area, ice frostramps, flange area and acreage

Space Systems Company – Michoud Operations

Mission Success

BulletinWe never forget who we’re working for.™

August 29, 2005

Volume 24, No. 6

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/michoud/

Continued on Page 2

foam. In response to theselosses, NASA and LockheedMartin have organized teamsto study each area (see box,page 2).

In subsequent news brief-ings, NASA AdministratorMichael Griffin remainedimpressed with overall foamperformance. “This was thefirst try that the tank team, theshuttle team, the NASA teamever really made to reduce thefoam shedding to a minimumand acceptable level. I thinkthey did pretty darn well forthe first try, and that’s how I’dlike people to view it.”

Likewise, Bill Gersten-maier, associate administratorof Space Operations who isoverseeing the foam investiga-tion, called it a “pretty phe-nomenal job.” Of 4,192

pounds of foam applied to theET, only 1.9 pounds are inquestion.

Each team is makingprogress, Gerstenmaier said,“We’re starting to make somesense of data and understandwhere things are comingtogether, how the mechanismfor the foam loss was.”

On the PAL ramp,Gerstenmaier said the ramp onthe next tank (ET-119) will beremoved and a new oneinstalled. As part of theprocess, the team will performNon-Destructive Evaluationand then dissect the ramp togather more information.

“Before we pick a particu-lar repair technique, we’regoing to understand every bitof data that we can get out of

Discovery prepares to touch down at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 5:11 a.m. on August 9 after completing a successful 13-plus dayReturn to Flight mission to the International Space Station.

Successful mission ends - challenges continue

l

NASA Shuttle ProgramManager Bill Parsons andDeputy Program ManagerWayne Hale visited MichoudAugust 17 to talk individuallywith the teams investigatingthe foam loss.

During a question andanswer session with the PALRamp team, Parsons said,“There’s a lot of good workthat went on here,” referringto the ET Return to Flighteffort. “We’ve got to keepbuilding on that.

“I think we did a prettygood job of fixing failuremodes on foam. Now we’ve

got another failure mode. Andwe may have another one inthe future. We will always flywith some risk.”

Hale told the team that“we’ve got to make this right.It’s more important to do itright than to do it fast.

“It’s important for thiscountry to go forward inspace. It’s important for us tofly the shuttle. The space sta-tion when we (STS-114) leftwas like a brand new spacestation. That mission was soimportant. A Soyuz just cannot do what the shuttle can.” ■

existing tanks,” he said. The five teams at Michoud

report to an IntegrationManagement Team headed byNASA’s Dr. Corky Clinton.

Paula Hartley, the inde-pendent Lockheed Martin lead,explained that the teams aregoing through a rigorous faulttree process and hope to haveall the blocks closed by theend of September. Major testing will follow.

“Each of the teams is iden-tifying test programs to ensurethey have resolved all the

2

LH2/Intertank Flange Closeout

PAL Ramp• NASA lead - Charlie Harris• LM lead - Kevin MontelepreLarge piece of foam off LH2 PALramp at third ice frost ramp

Bipod Closeout• NASA lead - David Wood• LM lead - Matt WalloSmall divot in upper left corner of -Y bipod, closeout

LH2 Ice Frost Ramp• NASA lead - Mike Tinker• LM lead - Ben FerrellMinor foam loss on three ramps

Continued from Page 1STS -114

Parsons, Hale encourage teams in recent visit to MAF

NASA Deputy Shuttle Manager Wayne Hale (standing second fromright) makes a point during a discussion with employees about theSTS-114 mission and the foam investigation.

Areas of foam loss on STS-114

issues associated with foamloss,” Hartley said.

Independent representa-tives from other NASA andLockheed Martin sites havebrought fresh eyes to theproblem solving, she noted.

“Everyone has the samegoal: find the root cause, getit fixed, get it demonstrated,get it on the tank and startflying again.

“The NASA teams havesaid that our foam techniciansare extraordinary because it isnot an easy job to do. This isnot a people issue. This isa ‘fix the process’ issue.” ■

Investigation teams, leads, areas of study

LH2/Intertank Flange• NASA lead - Jay Sambamurthi• LM lead - Eugene SweetTwo losses (within requirement) on -Y thrust panel inupper closeout area

LH2 Acreage• NASA lead - Mindy Niedermeyer• LM lead - Chris BourgeoisOne loss below -Y bipod at site ofPDL repair; second adjacent to icefrost ramp

LH2 PAL Ramp

LH2 Ice/Frost Ramps

Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) Acreage

Bipod Closeout

3

Return to Flight Expo ScrapbookAugust 6, 2005

Rebecca Gambino,PM&TO, lifts 2-yr.-oldMelanie up to see themoon rock.

The Return to Flight Expo onSaturday, August 6 was a wonderfultime to show Michoud’s familiesabout the efforts and achievementsbehind returning the Space Shuttle tosafe flight.

As it happened, Discovery and hercrew undocked from the InternationalSpace Station and started preparingfor their trip back to Earth on the dayof the Expo.

Approximately 5,000 employeesand family members attended theExpo. ■

DennisSilbernagel,ProductionOperations,shows his familyhow the ET

production line islaid out in theModel Room.

Michael Holt, Program Management &

Technical

Operations (PM&TO), explains how th

e Fiber

Placement Machine works in th

e National

Center for A

dvanced Manufacturing.

Jessica Jacques, Production Operations, discusses her

role as a foam technician at the Thermal Protection

Systems Spray Equipment and Demo booth.

Scott Morales, PM&TO, shows off a

foam sample to his

curious audience. Morales was assisted by Frank Duncan (left

of Morales), Safety & Product A

ssurance, who discussed

cryogenic materials, and Chuck Williams (fa

r right),

who

demonstrated how foam works.

4

It takes more than goodintentions to build a bettercommunity.

Among other things, ittakes strong, committed fami-lies; it takes children preparedto succeed in school; it takeshealthy lifestyle choices for

Michoud Operations’Campaign

August 29 – September 16, 2005

young and old; and it takes areliable safety net for familiesor individuals faced with theunexpected - or the unimaginable.

Building a greater NewOrleans takes many things;the United Way contributes

Incentive Awards

(10) $500 Cash Prizes (before taxes) To be awarded August 2006

Minimum Three-night Cruise for Two Departing N.O.To be awarded August 2006

2005 Honda(Courtesy Royal Honda)

$500 in Gasoline (Courtesy Spur Gasoline / Murphy Oil USA)

Five-day Penthouse Cruise for Two on the CarnivalFun Ship(Courtesy Carnival Cruise Lines)

Two-night Stay/Oasis Spa and Resort/Grand Casino, Gulfport, MS.

2005-06 Sustaining Michoud UW contributor, $4/weekminimum; VPs/Directors not eligible

2005-06 Sustaining Michoud UW contributor, $500 ormore annual contribution

2005-06 Supportive Level contributors in the Greater New Orleans area

2005-06 Supportive Level contributors in the Greater New Orleans area

2005-06 UW contributors of $1,000 or more in the Greater New Orleans area

2005-06 Supportive Level contributors in the Greater New Orleans area

Qualifications

United Way Campaign Incentives

to most of them.The United Way is a com-

munity-based, community-runorganization that provideslocal solutions to local prob-lems by assisting people andnon-profit agencies in ourarea. In the past year alone,

United Way for the GreaterNew Orleans Area has distrib-uted almost $11 million to 61nonprofit agencies, impacting700,000 people - or about one-half the population in Orleans,Jefferson, St. Bernard and St.Tammany parishes.

By contributing to the 2005Michoud Operations UnitedWay campaign, you will helpthe United Way fund over 133programs that impact localfamilies every day. Whetherthe need is for shelter follow-ing fire or floods; pre-schoolprograms for our youngest cit-izens; or basic assistance forthe physically-challenged,United Way-funded programshelp build a better NewOrleans.

Do your share to build agreater New Orleans. Donategenerously during the 2005Michoud Operations cam-paign, from August 29 throughSeptember 16. ■

Lockheed Martin employees may have lost the Tug of War at the special night for volunteers atZephyrs stadium, but they always win by pulling together for United Way. Pictured from left are Pat Shea,Tom Davis, Hal Simoneaux, Marshall Byrd, Nahlon Vogt and Cory Schnard.

5

Hartley namedS&PA director

Paula Hartley, a seniormanager in ProgramManagement & TechnicalOperations, has been named

director,Safety &ProductAssurance.She suc-ceedsRichardHarris whowas named

Crew Exploration Vehicledeputy program manager.

Hartley has also beenappointed the LockheedMartin independent lead tothe IntegrationManagement Team that isoverseeing the five teamsthat are investigating foamloss from STS-114.

She joined LockheedMartin in 1985 as a metal-lurgist supporting the ETprogram and then served asprincipal investigator onseveral advanced metallicmaterials and processesresearch programs.

In addition to the SuperLightweight Tank program,she has supportedAdvanced Launch Systemand Next GenerationLaunch Technology pro-grams. Most recently, sheassumed the role of RiskReduction Test Manager forthe Falcon Small LaunchVehicle program.

Hartley is widely published and holds twopatents on solid state join-ing technologies. She holdsa Metallurgical Engineeringand Materials Sciencedegree from the Universityof Notre Dame and a mas-ter's in business administra-tion from TulaneUniversity. ■

Hartley

missions each year to thespace station with a crew offour or six, Lacefieldexplains. After each trip, itwill be necessary to refurbishthe vehicle and reapply theThermal Protection System.Each vehicle would fly six toeight missions so the programwould be in continuous pro-duction.

If Lockheed Martin winsthe CEV down-select nextyear, Michoud’s role wouldbe to build the CEV structureand sub-assembly.

“We must submit a com-pelling proposal with the rightamount of risk and the rightcost value,” says RichardHarris, CEV program deputy.“Those who understand therequirements and propose towrite solutions that are costeffective will come outahead.”

Lockheed Martin will useLean 21 initiatives and strate-gies to reach the best costsolution, Harris says. Hepoints to Michoud’s status asa government-owned, com-

When NASA advanced thetimetable for a CrewExploration Vehicle (CEV)from 2014 to 2011 to fill thegap following the end of theSpace Shuttle program,Lockheed Martin was ready.

The CEV team had alreadyincluded such a plan in its ini-tial bid to build the vehicleearlier this year.

As the next human spaceflight program beyond theshuttle, the CEV pits tworivals, the Lockheed Martinteam versus the NorthropGrumman-Boeing team. Theprogram timeline shows bothteams currently under contractas part of Phase 1. This fallNASA will release a Call forImprovements with a list ofvehicle requirements. Theteams will use the require-ments to submit their designproposals in mid-December.Then NASA will announcethe winning CEV team inMarch/April 2006. Phase 2will begin at that time and runthrough 2011.

What are LockheedMartin’s chances of winningthe CEV competition, valuedbetween $3 and $5 billion?

“Excellent,” says CleonLacefield, CEV programmanager from Denver.

“This competition willdetermine for the next generation what crewed sys-tem is going to be in the U.S.inventory,” says Lacefield.“And we can either be on thatteam or not.

“We have a long standingrelationship with NASA; wewant to enhance that relation-ship and show them that weare the team to work with forthe next generation, becausethis vehicle will be around fora long time.”

Initially, the CEV wouldfly as many as one-half dozen

pany-operated (GOCO) facil-ity and how that contributesto a low-cost program.

“It also helps to have aworkforce that is used to deal-ing with NASA and humanspace flight,” adds Lacefield.

NASA anticipates demon-stration and certificationflights by 2009-2010. Ademo might be an on-padabort exercise because theCEV is expected to have full-abort capability throughoutthe mission. Flights to theMoon and beyond will comelater in the program.

“The CEV will be a moreoperative, affordable crewvehicle than shuttle,” Harrissays. One way to do that is todesign a system with no land-ing gear and no need for run-ways and infrastructure.Harris says the CEV will useparachutes, drogue chutes andairbags for landing.

The CEV is part of a largerarchitectural study for spaceexploration. When NASAreleases its requirements fromthe study, Lacefield believes itwill show the CEV launchingatop a Shuttle DerivedVehicle.

“NASA’s preferences areto go with an existing NASAsystem or Shuttle Derivedsystem because that’s whatthey have the greatest confi-dence in,” Lacefield says.

“We’re excited to workthrough a transition of theexisting workforce to this newproject and for that to be thefuture of Lockheed Martin inhuman spaceflight.” ■

NASA moves forward on CEVProgram crucial to Michoud future

“We have a longstanding relationship

with NASA; we want toenhance that

relationship and showthem that we are theteam to work with forthe next generation,

because this vehicle willbe around for a long

time.”

– Cleon Lacefield, CEV Program Manager

For more information onNASA’s Vision for Space

Exploration, go to:http://www.nasa.gov/mis-sions/solarsystem/explore

_main.html

25 years.Barney BrumfieldFerdinand DeleryPaul DillonJerry DominickJulie FlowerKaren GaresMark GoerlitzAmeen SarkeesLionel SmoothRoy ThomasGene Traylor

20 yearsAndrew BoothJames BrooksChris ClutterDaniel GalbraithGlen GilmoreVern GreeneMelanie JenningsSusan JonesTroy OhlsenAntonio OteroKim OwensPaul ParetiDebra Pierce

Karen PoyGerard RouléScott SanfilippoRichard VenableNathaniel Williams

15 yearsTheresa Dowdy

5 yearsJohn Dragash

6

BulletinMission Success

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company Michoud Operations, Volume 24, Number 6August 29, 2005

Editor: Harry Wadsworth

Graphics, Photography: Britt Pitre, Nathan Loper and Horace Williams

Contributors: Brad Cartwright, Marion LaNasaand Brian Peterson

Please send mailing updates to: sharon.h.hansen@maf.nasa.gov

Lockheed Martin Space Systems CompanyMichoud OperationsP.O. Box 29304New Orleans, LA 70189-0304

MilestonesEmployees celebrating anniversaries withLockheed Martin in September 2005

Mission Success Bulletin is published by the Communications Department.

Ethics CornerLast fall, Ethics focus

groups were formed atMichoud to discuss keyissues that surfaced duringthe latest company-wideEthics Survey. The issuesdiscussed included 1)employee retaliation, 2) noaction taken regardingunethical conduct and 3)breach of employee

confidentiality. These groups, derived from

all disciplines across MichoudOperations, provided valuableinsight as to why these issuespersist, complete with recom-mendations for resolution.The results of these focusgroups were compiled, and anaction plan developed specificto those issues.

As part of the action plan,one of the focus groups recommended developing atraining awareness curriculumfor individuals who haveaccess to confidentialemployee information.

This curriculum will touchon how to treat and handleconfidential information, com-plete with corporate policy, and

the consequences of mis-han-dling the information. Theclasses are scheduled over thenext two weeks for employeeswho have access to employeeinformation that would beconsidered confidential.

As a note, the biannualcorporate-wide Ethics Surveywill be conducted this fall. ■

Diversity Maturity Survey in workThe second Diversity Maturity Survey is scheduled

August 29 – September 16 and will canvass more than 50,000Lockheed Martin employees at all sites. The survey helps indi-cate the corporation's level of diversity maturity

A random sample of employees will receive an e-mail invitingthem to participate. Another group of employees who do nothave e-mail access will receive instructions at their home abouthow to participate on-line.

The Diversity Maturity Model (DMM) tracks the progressLockheed Martin is making in being more inclusive. The ratingis based on a self-assessment performed by the business units,the survey and data that incorporate demographic informationrelating to diversity.

Last year the corporation as a whole received a DMM assess-ment of 2.0 or Enlightened on a scale of 1-5 that included 1)Foundational, 3) Embraced, 4) Integrated, and 5) Institutionalized Inclusion. The corporation identified threekey areas: employee retention, customer focus and a productiveand innovative work climate.

Lockheed Martin's goal this year is a 2.5 DMM rating.Participation is voluntary and responses confidential. ■