Contact: Darrell “DJ” Jordan
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ADERHOLT ANNOUNCES $615,882 IN FEDERAL FUNDS FOR ALABAMA AEROSPACE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert Aderholt (AL-04) today announced that $615,882 in federal funding has been awarded for aerospace work to be performed in Huntsville.  The funds are part of a $4 million earmark from Congressman Aderholt in the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

The contract award is for the development of a robotic lunar lander demonstration vehicle with an integrated propulsion system, under the guidance of the Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation (VCSI).

“The test bed in Huntsville is intended to demonstrate the incredible technical capabilities of the Huntsville region and the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in the development of robotic systems,” said Congressman Aderholt. “I am pleased that the winning proposal is from Huntsville and I look forward to the successful execution of this project with the hope that it could result in additional testing activities at Redstone Arsenal.”

Under this contract, Teledyne Brown Engineering and Orion Propulsion will work together on this project. The Teledyne Brown Engineering team will deliver the test lander by April 2009. The new lander demonstrator will be built at the Teledyne Brown facility on Sparkman Drive and the propulsion system will be developed at Orion Propulsion in their facility on Commerce Circle in Huntsville.

The contractor team aims to demonstrate the ability of the lander demonstration article by hovering for up to ten seconds without a tether and up to 30 seconds connected to an air hose umbilical.  The lander will be tested in the Lunar Lander Robotic Test Bed facility.

The overseeing manager, the Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation, is leading the implementation of a Lunar Lander Robotic Test Bed in support of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.  The Test Bed is an innovative facility located on the Redstone Arsenal at NASA’s refurbished Materials Environmental Test Complex.

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