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Lockheed Gets $485M From NASA To Create MAVEN Craft
coondoggie writes to tell us that Lockheed Martin has landed a $485 million contract to create the spacecraft for NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) project. "MAVEN is the second mission in NASA's Mars Scout Program — a series of small, low-cost, principal investigator-led missions to the Red Planet, NASA said. The Phoenix Mars Lander was the first mission under the program. Lockheed Martin is the industry partner on the Phoenix mission. It designed and built the spacecraft, and also provided flight operations and currently surface operations for the lander. The mission has been extended through Sept. 30, 2008."
It's MAVEN (In the article), not MAVAN (which is in the title)
Maybe take a couple seconds for just a smidge of proofreading, occasionally, before actually posting them articles.
so it begins..... it's about time pre-order your copy of mavan craft nao!
I sure hope they choose the metric system!
Wait, or was that standard...
Ah whatever, it'll fly anyway.
Forget that MAVAN shit. If you're ready to part with gas, grass, or ass, you can ride in MYVAN for free.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Hope Lockhead's repository has all the necessary jars, or this build is gonna fail hard. I mean, maven's okay for what I do, but I would hope that for 480 million, they could come up with something a bit nicer.
We all know that the overpaid Slashdot editors can't be bothered with correcting the text of the submissions, much less to check the links in the submission. But I have not seen, so far, that they would manage to get the title wrong, too!?
For the record, at this moment the title of this story reads "Lockheed Gets $485M From NASA To Create MAVAN Craft".
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
So, we're not going to have a highly publicized 6 month bid process, and then give it to the company with the better plane, and then take it away because the local company is crying about sour grapes? And then have them both re-bid, and then cancel that project because it looks again like the company that start with a B is starting ti whine AGAIN because they just can't compete in the competitive market because their damn plane just isn't good enough. So we scrap the whole damn idea till "later" and make our guys fly around in 30 year old gas filled bombs with outdated electronics hoping that one doesn't fuckin' blow up over a residential area?
What's the fun in that? I didn't get a notice to bid! I'm going to congress!
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
Which will happen first:
* Slashdot editors spend more time on editing and dupe-checking and remove Idle.
* Lockheed cost-overruns this thing to $2 billion.
Bets, anyone?
"...a series of small, low-cost, principal investigator-led missions to the Red Planet..."
Since when is half a billion dollars low-cost?
NASA this week awarded Lockheed Martin a $485 million contract to design, build and operate the spacecraft for NASA's 2013 space mission known as Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) program.
I would've done it for $420 million, but they never asked.
It's irrational to consider that the United States, in its current condition, could or should operate a Mars mission.
Bruce Perens.
I wouldn't be surprised if some shill zings me as off-topic or inflammatory, but...
Is this the *same* outfit that got hundreds of millions, if not *billions* for the widely-ridiculed Bertholf National Security Cutter widely derided as a boondoggle and which might not see more copies built because that outfit couldn't coordinate with subcontractors to get the damned communications systems' TEMPEST security wiring in place?
Ok... how can *i* get just $50,000 of that cash without killing, blackmailing, or doing seances and runes?
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Perhaps it will have the inscription
"Lord loves a workin' man; don't trust whitey; see a doctor and get rid of it."
on a plaque on the side?
kissed up to the current office holders ..which just so happens to be the Republcians.
I'd like to know exactly who decides that we should spend half a billion dollars on a freaking mars satellite when we have very real and serious problems here on earth such as global warming, pollution and even our current economic situation! When are we going to stand up and stop letting our government pretend that there's nothing wrong at here at home and make them spend our money a lot more wisely!
I think they picked the wrong subcontractor to build the prototype.
I'd like to know exactly who decides that we should spend half a billion dollars on a freaking mars satellite when we have very real and serious problems here on earth such as global warming, pollution and even our economy! When are we going to stand up and stop letting our government pretend that theres nothing wrong here at home and make them spend our money a lot more wisely!
Thread of the subject's contractor (Lockheed)
While I'm grateful for one Admiral Elmo Zumwalt for making changes that made Navy life better before I joined (well, a number of admirals hated his guts, and a number he had to fire, IIRC), I am glad it appears the DDG-1000 design is not going to see too many more copies. It is just an ungainly appearance, un-naval looking, and it seems more navies using Aegis want the DDG-51 look (for now...). Every time i LOOKED at the DDG-1000 my stomach growled. It's too bad the boondoggle of a project even got programmed funding. Now, that's money partly wasted, tho *some* of the knowledge gained *might* be back fitted to the DDG-51 class/DDG-9x+ variants. But, the gun system apparently is too large to back fit.
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Small, low-cost investigator-led missions in an atmosphere. In other words, robotic hang-gliders, gliders and microlights. And this is going to cost $485 million? How many does NASA expect to get for that? The Germans had mastered the basic technology in the 40s, with rocket-launched glider bombs, radiation-proofing by better shielding rather than expensive layouts has been used in space vehicles for ages now, and UAVs have become practically commonplace. Yes, you need more reliable unfurling systems, as you can't rely on astronauts to make repairs on Mars missions just yet, and the Martian atmosphere is sufficiently thin that you really do need excellent lift to maintain flight, but I see nothing here that is technologically revolutionary. It looks like a basic evolution from existing hardware, along with a little repackaging. So long as you've a good supply of ultra-light materials, access to an aircraft hanger you can seal up and reduce air pressure to Martian levels, and some serious aviation geeks, you should be able to design, develop and mass-produce such systems at a fraction of the cost.
I've no objection to NASA paying serious money for serious work, or paying Really Big Money for Really New Inventions, but when you're talking something that is almost at the point where anyone with encyclopedic knowledge of the 1,500+ public domain airfoils, the experience gathered by biplane and triplane designers, an Open Source CFD package and say a couple of the really freakish designs (I'd go with the DH98 Mosquito, Barnes Wallice's aircraft, and/or one of the round-the-world aircraft) could be expected to be able to come up with something workable... Someone outside of the top research groups probably won't come up with the best design, but if the margin between "it works" and "it's perfect" is sufficiently small, you don't NEED the "best" design. I don't see any proofs here that Lockheed can do better than a bunch of MIT engineers or even a sufficiently geeky high-schooler. I certainly don't see any proofs here that Lockheed'll do anything other than pull up a pre-existing design for exactly this kind of work (they've plenty to draw from - including a prior proposed shuttle replacement), re-badge it so they can pass it off as new, and spend the remaining $484M on drinks.
Hell, in the Martian atmosphere, all you really need for this kind of stuff is a collapsible, inflatable R100, the 3D solar panels that high-schooler DID design, and some ultra-light electric motors. (Definitely the R100, not the R101. You do NOT want the R101. I know this is Mars and there are traditions to uphold, but think of the Martian children.) Definitely a Zepplin derivative, not a modern blimp. There's a big difference. The R100 is probably still one of the best airship designs ever. So long as you can reassemble and inflate at destination, such a design could hop from point to point on the planet with the greatest of ease, be far less prone to mechanical fatigue than even the spectacular rovers out there at present, and potentially be scooped back up for a trip to another planet or a return to Earth.
And NASA will pay Lockheed HOW MUCH to build something almost any Slashdotter could assemble out of Japanese craft paper, the carbon fibre rods used in high-end LARP swords, and some Blue Peter sticky-back plastic? John Noakes probably has a dozen he made earlier.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
No, not that one. This one.
Oh, wait, scratch that. It will look completely different and won't use any previous research. I mean they already spent some money to come up with a new acronym, so why not go all the way?
congress has issues with spending a couple of hundred millions making sure that a capsule is ready by end of 2010. Amazing.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
I keep thinking of "Project Hoyven Maven" from The Simpsons ;)=
Correct me if I'm wrong, because this is an interesting topic, but to summarize your post: "Aesthetics are more important than stealthiness of ships at sea from radar." There are other failures from the program, but you bring up its looks instead.
Aren't we supposed to go to Titan? Nobody reads Stephen Baxter anymore? :)
http:www.Xanga.com/avenueoflight
check out: "The Lucifer Project" listed on my site.
The ships can simultaneously be stealthy and attractive. One example: every navy has standards and many have differentiation in appearances due to national and architectural and service input. Anyway, while i am happy th SK navy and the JMSDF have formidable ships, i wish the SK would effectively or economically find a way to to suck up or give in to political reasons resulting in the King Sejong The Great looking like another Burke clone. SK can do BETTER than THAT. Atago is sexier than DDG-8+.
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
It's a shame McLockMart got it. They are no longer the engineering company they once were, and all they really care about is making sure the precious paperwork mandated by CMMI is filled out.
What a shame.