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GenCorp Aerojet and Ball Make Mars Bid
Sacramento - July 27, 1999 - GenCorp Aerojet and Ball Aerospace, two veterans of challenging spacecraft missions, have submitted a joint proposal to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to build the new Mars MicroMission spacecraft. Ball Aerospace would be the prime spacecraft contractor. Aerojet would design, manufacture and support the propulsion system through spacecraft integration and launch. The Mars MicroMission Program is expected to begin late 1999 and launch as early as November 2002. "We are confident in our ability to excel on the Mars MicroMission program, based on Aerojet's history of mission-proven success in spacecraft propulsion systems and Ball Aerospace's expertise as a spacecraft prime contractor," said Bob Harris, Aerojet vice president of Strategic and Space Propulsion. The Mars MicroMission program aims to cost-effectively explore Mars by launching many small, inexpensive, identical spacecraft capable of performing numerous types of missions over a period of nine years -- rather than sending large, costly vehicles infrequently. The Aerojet-Ball team and four other contractors are bidding to supply the first two spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 2003, with the potential of supplying all Mars MicroMission spacecraft through 2012. Earlier this month, Aerojet and Ball separately won spacecraft contracts under NASA's Discovery Program, which also emphasizes lower-cost scientific missions. Aerojet will design and build a propulsion system that delivers the MESSENGER spacecraft to a first-ever orbit of Mercury. Ball was named prime spacecraft contractor for the Deep Impact mission to explore the interior of a comet.
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