Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Shuttle Crew Visits Rockwell Plant : Aerospace: The appearance comes a day after NASA announces its pact renewal with the Palmdale facility.

It wasn’t planned, but the timing couldn’t have been better.

A day after NASA announced that major modification work on the space shuttle fleet will continue to be done by Rockwell International in Palmdale, the crew that will fly aboard the Atlantis got a firsthand look at the changes being made here to that shuttle.

The visit by the six-member flight crew had been planned for some time and was not tied to the decision that NASA announced Tuesday, Rockwell officials said.

Nonetheless, many of the comments during an hourlong gathering Wednesday of Rockwell officials, employees and the crew members centered on the announcement. NASA had considered having the modification work done at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, putting 300 or so Palmdale-based jobs in jeopardy.

“It could not have happened without you doing your job,” Bob Minor, Rockwell Space Systems Division president, told employees. “Six months ago, I was worried. You did it and I’m proud of you.”

Before the gathering, vehicle manager Mark Johnstone commented on NASA’s decision, saying, “This is a big deal for our valley, for keeping jobs in California. We’re reversing the trend. This was not an easy thing to do.”

NASA Space Shuttle Director Tom Utsman said the decision was made, in part, to “allow the KSC team to concentrate all its efforts on the safe and efficient shuttle vehicle pre-launch processing.”

Whatever the reasons, it has clearly pleased Rockwell and its Palmdale employees, who applauded loudly when Minor first mentioned the space agency’s decision. Having the shuttle flight crew on hand just made the day all the more special.

Shuttle crews often visit Rockwell’s Palmdale facility to view modification work, said company spokeswoman Janet Dean.

“It’s very motivational for (the employees) to see the crew,” Dean said.

About 300 Rockwell Space Systems Division employees are nearing completion on $74 million in modifications to Atlantis, which is scheduled for an 11-day mission in October.

“It’s clear to us you’re doing fantastic work,” Donald McMonagle, commander for the upcoming Atlantis mission, told the Rockwell employees during a ceremony Wednesday.

McMonagle said that seeing the employees who are doing the modification work makes the astronauts more comfortable. “When you go out onto the launch pad . . . you have that one moment, ‘What if somebody forgot something?’ It’s these opportunities to come here and see you people and the work you do that lets us clear that thought in an instant.”

Mission specialist Joseph Tanner told the employees, “Without you, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to do what we do. You build the best orbiters in the world. You modify the best orbiters in the world.”

During their visit, the flight crew, which includes a female payload commander as well as a mission specialist from the European Space Agency, honored four Space Systems Division employees with “Silver Snoopy” awards. The awards are “for individuals who have (given) an outstanding effort contributing to the success of manned space flight missions.”