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Titan Failures Claim First Scalps
By Frank Sietzen, Jr.
 Washington - May 13, 1999 - In yet another indication that Lockheed Martin officials are worried about the ramifications of three consecutive Titan IV losses and the loss of their Athena rocket during the Ikonos-1 launch, the company booted the longtime head of its Astronautics Sector and President of its related Missiles and Space unit this week.

Raymond Colladay, Astronautics chief and a longtime Lockmart employee, will retire June 1st, the same day that Michael Henshaw, M&S president, will move to the company's Energy and Environment Unit.

The post had been occupied by Bob Stevens, who was juggling the job with his other title of VP of Strategic Development.

Colladay will be replaced by G. Thomas Marsh, previously the VP of the Missiles and Space Sector. Henshaw will be replaced by Albert Smith, who will be moving from Lockmart's Sanders unit.

Industry sources say that the moves may not be the end of the personnel changes stemming from the launch vehicle crisis. If in fact the Titan IVB/Milstar failure was caused by errant software, as reported over the weekend by Aviation Week magazine, "then look out for folks in Denver," one industry source told SpaceDaily Wednesday. "Things are getting pretty cutthroat over there."

For their own part, Boeing seems content to stand behind its expendable launch vehicle management team at Huntington Beach, under the helm of R. Gail Schluter. But time will tell.

Pratt and Whitney, whose RL-10 engine was involved in both the Titan IVB/Centaur and Delta III failures, reached over to Lockmart this week to fill the head of its Space Propulsion group.

Larry D. Knauer, former Lockmart deputy program manager of its X-33 project, will move over to oversee Pratt's entire liquid and solid fueled rocket contracts, including the RL-10 and Shuttle booster refurbishment programs.

The launch vehicle accident investigations continue in both Titan and Delta accidents, and the Athena fairing failure as well. Lockheed's Evan McCollum said that the company was getting close to making an announcement on the Athena and its return-to-flight, but wasn't yet ready to do so.

"We're close (to making an announcement), but we're not there yet," McCollum said. Sources said that the next launch of a cleared Athena may well be another Ikonos- the Ikonos-2, which might launch at year's end to help get both programs back on track.

  • Lockheed Martin

  • LAUNCH 1999: SPECIAL REPORT PAGE
  • MILSPACE NEWS - SPACEDAILY SPECIAL REPORT




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