[meteorite-list] Mars Science Laboratory Aeroshell Delivered To Launch Site

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2011/0513_ss_msl.html  

Mars Science Laboratory Aeroshell Delivered To Launch Site

Lockheed Martin-Built Capsule Will Protect NASA's Curiosity Rover

DENVER, May 13th, 2011 -- NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) aeroshell
and cruise stage were delivered to Kennedy Space Center, Fla. yesterday.
Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] built the aeroshell and NASA's Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory built the cruise stage. The aeroshell will encapsulate and 
protect the Curiosity rover during its deep space cruise to Mars, and 
from the intense heat and friction that will be generated as the system 
descends through the Martian atmosphere.

PHOTOS:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/MarsScienceLaboratoryAeroshell

The MSL backshell and the cruise stage departed from March Air Reserve
Base, Calif. on an Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport plane. The
plane stopped a Buckley Air Force Base near Denver where the heatshield
was loaded on board, and then continued to Kennedy Space Center. The
Curiosity rover and its descent stage will be shipped to Florida in June.

Recently, Lockheed Martin integrated the MSL Entry Descent and Landing
Instrument (MEDLI) onto the back of the heatshield. Provided by NASA's 
Langley and Ames Research Centers, MEDLI will collect temperature and 
pressure data during the spacecraft's descent through the Martian 
atmosphere.

"Designing and building such a large and complex aeroshell was truly a
challenge, but together with our partners, we have produced what we
believe to be an amazing capsule," said Rich Hund, MSL program manager
at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "We just finished the
installation of the MEDLI package. Now we're looking forward to seeing
the data it will return as that knowledge will help determine how we
design future Martian entry systems."

In October 2008, the backshell, half of the large and sophisticated
two-part aeroshell, was delivered to JPL in Pasadena, Calif. where it
was integrated with other flight systems. The aeroshell/heatshield is
the largest ever built for a planetary mission at 4.5 meters (nearly 15
feet) in diameter. In contrast, the aeroshells/heatshields of the Spirit
and Opportunity Mars Exploration Rovers measured 8.5 feet and Apollo
capsule heatshields measured just less than 13 feet.

The rover Curiosity is in testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif., which manages the Mars Science Laboratory project for
the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The rover and other
parts of the Mars Science Laboratory are being delivered in May and June
to NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch late this year. In
August 2012, Curiosity will land on Mars for a two-year mission to
examine whether conditions in the landing area have been favorable for
microbial life and for preserving evidence about whether life has
existed there.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security
company that employs about 126,000 people worldwide and is principally
engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration
and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
The Corporation's 2010 sales from continuing operations were $45.8 billion.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Gary Napier, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company
(303) 971-4012; gary.p.napier at lmco.com