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
|
|
Tuesday, March 4
From Cedar Park to the moon | Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost makes safe landing
KVUE-TV Austin, TX — 5:49 am ET (1049 GMT) How Firefly Aerospace Emerges from Bankruptcy and Completes Historic Moon Landing
New York Observer — 5:48 am ET (1048 GMT) Blue Ghost moon landing brings more calls for investment into space exploration
KTBC-TV Austin, TX — 5:48 am ET (1048 GMT) Experts say Firefly's Moon landing is the first step to putting humans on the moon
KEYE-TV Austin, TX — 5:47 am ET (1047 GMT) Intrepid moon lander witnesses truly breathtaking lunar sunrise
Mashable — 5:46 am ET (1046 GMT) |
