[Satellite Today – 2-19-08] Boeing Co. signed an associate contractor’s agreement with five companies to work on the Ares 1 upper stage, Boeing announced Feb. 15.
    The agreement was formed with companies that have contracts for Area 1 work with NASA‘s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Participating companies include Aerojet, Hamilton Sundstrand, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Moog Inc. and Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. Ares 1 is a two-stage rocket that will carry the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low-Earth orbit.
    "The Ares 1 upper stage associates are being proactive and using the resources of our respective companies to resolve technical issues before they become problems for NASA," Jim Chilton, Boeing vice president and program manager of Exploration Launch Systems, said in a statement.