McDonnell Unit Wins $5-Million Rocket Design Contract

McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co. of Huntington Beach said its parent company has received a $5-million contract for initial design work on a proposed super-booster rocket for the Air Force. The work will take place at the Huntington Beach facility.

Six other companies also received $5-million contracts, and all are competing for a major contract for production of Advanced Launch System rockets capable of orbiting payloads of as much as 150,000 pounds.

The space shuttle, in contrast, is limited to payloads of about 50,000 pounds. The Air Force’s goal is to reduce the cost per pound of launching cargo into space by 90%.

The other six companies in the competition are General Dynamics Corp., Boeing Aerospace Co., Hughes Aircraft Co., Martin Marietta Corp., Rockwell International Corp. and USBI Booster Production Co.