Palmdale Beats Out Lompoc for Shuttle Pact

Palmdale won a lobbying war Wednesday for the right to build a $2.1-billion replacement for the space shuttle Challenger, as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration decided it would cost too much and take too long to build the spacecraft at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc.

NASA said Rockwell International estimated it would cost nearly $150 million more to do the work at Vandenberg than at Palmdale, where the company built the previous four shuttle orbiters. And, the space agency said it was told by prime contractor Rockwell, it would take five more months to deliver.

Even though the space agency calculated that the cost and time needed to complete the job at Vandenberg could be somewhat reduced, NASA stated on Wednesday that it had determined that the vehicle could not be delivered “as early as if built at the Palmdale facility.”

“A disappointment,” was the reaction of Lompoc Mayor Marvin Loney.

“I’m delighted,” said Palmdale Mayor Tracy Bibb.

Tale of Two Cities

Their cities had battled for the shuttle with a barrage of bumper stickers as well as telephone calls, letters and personal visits to NASA officials and politicians.

With anywhere from 900 to 1,500 jobs at stake--and an estimated annual payroll of nearly $70 million--Lompoc and nearby Santa Maria had pushed hard for an Air Force proposal that the contract be given to the Vandenberg base. More than 1,000 workers have been laid off at the central coast base since the West Coast shuttle launch complex was mothballed after the Challenger disaster 17 months ago.

Palmdale, also facing a loss of jobs because of Rockwell’s winding down of the B-1B bomber program, mounted its own lobbying effort. Then-Mayor Pete Knight, a former X-15 test pilot, and City Councilman Tom Smith, executive director of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, went to Washington in the spring to call on Rear Adm. Richard Truly, chief of the NASA shuttle program, and others.

Emotional Issue

“There is a lot of emotion in this issue and we are trying to keep it out,” Rockwell spokesman Ed Kennedy had said in March as the company conducted its economic analysis of the Vandenberg AFB proposal. “Our job is to get the facts for NASA to make a decision while all this flak is going on outside.”

Among other considerations, Rockwell fabricated parts for the four previous orbiters at its Downey plant and trucked them about 45 miles to Palmdale. The Air Force wanted the company to transport the parts 150 miles to Vandenberg.

After the NASA announcement on Wednesday, a Rockwell spokesman noted that many of the skilled laborers being phased out of the B-1B bomber program at Palmdale previously helped build the space shuttle Atlantis. “That means there is a labor force of experienced shuttle people we could bring back,” the spokesman said.

Bibb, the new Palmdale mayor, said he is happy for both the country and the space program. “The people,” he said, “will get a quality product that we feel will be as safe as it can be built.”

Also, Bibb said, the ability of Rockwell employees to shift from the B-1B bomber to the shuttle facility “means more stable growth for the Antelope Valley.”

Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), called it a “great day for Palmdale,” which is in his district. He echoed Bibb’s feeling that both the taxpayers and the space program will benefit.

“We are obviously dealing with a very sensitive issue in light of the horrible (Challenger) tragedy last year,” Dreier said. “The wisdom of NASA was shown by the fact that they are taking full advantage of a work force and a technological base which exists in Palmdale.”

Construction Date

He said construction of the shuttle at Palmdale will begin Aug. 1 when $2.1 billion appropriated by Congress becomes available.

The shuttle is expected to be ready for flight in 1991 or 1992.

Dreier said employment at Plant 42 in Palmdale will jump from the current 87 workers to more than 800 when construction begins.

In expressing his disappointment, Lompoc Mayor Loney kept a stiff upper lip and said the city is “still optimistic about other potential projects for our area.” These, he said, include a possible contract giving Vandenberg rather than the Kennedy Space Center in Florida the job of modifying other orbiters or doing the final assembly work and checkout of the shuttle to be constructed at Palmdale.