Air Force OKs Bigger Boosters by McDonnell

McDonnell Douglas said Thursday that it has received Air Force approval to build more powerful, “stretched” boosters for its Delta II rockets, increasing their potential application for military and commercial space launches and adding $10 million to the original $669-million contract.

The change in the contract to build 20 Deltas for the Air Force will enable future rockets to launch communications satellites and other payloads weighing up to 4,010 pounds, the company said.

Kelly Hawkes, a spokeswoman for McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., said the contract modification will have no immediate effect on the company’s Huntington Beach plant, where the Delta rockets are produced. The plant has 6,200 employees.

But the future impact could be significant, she said. By increasing the Delta’s payload capacity, McDonnell Douglas can better compete for military and commercial satellite launches. The company’s primary competitors are developing rockets with larger payload capacities than the Delta.

“This will offer us the opportunity to expand our business down the line in both the government and commercial sectors,” Hawkes said.

Under the modified contract terms, the first nine rockets to be produced will have a payload capacity of 3,190 pounds, but the capacity of the remaining 11 rockets will be increased to 4,010 pounds.

The increase will be provided by fitting Delta rockets with 42-foot-long solid-fuel rocket boosters instead of the 36-foot boosters specified in the initial contract. The boosters are built by a subcontractor, Hercules Aerospace Co. of Magna, Utah.