Lockheed to lay off external tank workers
Posted: Thu, Apr 1, 2004, 8:53 AM ET (1353 GMT)
Lockheed Martin will lay of 65 employees at a New Orleans facility that makes the external tanks used by the space shuttle, the company announced Wednesday. The layoffs at the Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans were prompted by a realignment of work from building new tanks to modifying existing tanks to be used on future flights. The plant had previously planned to produce six external tanks a year, but NASA officials now say that number will be reduced to an unspecified number in the near future. The future of the plant has come into question because of plans to retire the shuttle around the end of the decade, meaning there will be only about 25 more shuttle missions left. Local politicians have lobbied NASA to find a role for the plant after the shuttle is retired. The plant, which was previously used to build portions of the Saturn 5, employs about 2,000 people.
Lockheed Martin will lay of 65 employees at a New Orleans facility that makes the external tanks used by the space shuttle, the company announced Wednesday. The layoffs at the Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans were prompted by a realignment of work from building new tanks to modifying existing tanks to be used on future flights. The plant had previously planned to produce six external tanks a year, but NASA officials now say that number will be reduced to an unspecified number in the near future. The future of the plant has come into question because of plans to retire the shuttle around the end of the decade, meaning there will be only about 25 more shuttle missions left. Local politicians have lobbied NASA to find a role for the plant after the shuttle is retired. The plant, which was previously used to build portions of the Saturn 5, employs about 2,000 people.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, April 9
Applied Aerospace Supports NASA and Firefly's Blue Ghost Moon Lander With Advanced Materials to Repel Abrasive Lunar Dust
PR Newswire — 6:50 am ET (1050 GMT) Cedar Park-based Firefly Aerospace awarded Department of Defense contract
Austin (TX) American-Statesman — 6:49 am ET (1049 GMT) The US needs ‘weapons in space,’ SPACECOM head says
Defense One — 6:47 am ET (1047 GMT) Space Command leader calls for space weapons, announces funding for satellite refueling
Colorado Springs Gazette — 6:47 am ET (1047 GMT) Space Command moves to support new capabilities, strategies for warfare in space
Defensescoop — 6:46 am ET (1046 GMT) |
