PhOTOS: (left and inset top left) George Alexander, left, and Rickey Pope package a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile seeker for shipment to the prime contractor for final assembly. (Inset bottom right) Jennifer Clark, left, and William Scott install a PAC-3 seeker into a vibration test fixture. BOB FERGuSON/BOEING a an overall economic impact of the GMD program. That keeps Boeing as the prime contractor, said $1.5 billion, with $415 million Dwight Potter, retired transition manager for the GMD program. going directly to 264 suppliers “GMD is the franchise program in the Strategic Missile and across the state last year. And Defense Systems division, so keeping that firm foothold in the Boeing and its employees gave missile defense business was crucial,” Potter said. Along with the $2.5 million in 2011 to a range new space exploration contracts, the GMD extension “continues of charitable causes including to keep Huntsville in a viable position for the future, for at least tornado relief efforts. the next seven to 10 years,” he added. Anthony “Tony” Jones, vice It wasn’t always so. president for site operations, After Boeing established Huntsville operations to support notes the diversity of programs at the Huntsville site has become initial development of the Saturn V rocket’s first-stage booster, its strength. the site grew to a peak of about 4,500 employees in 1966. “We reach out and touch every business unit, including Growth leveled off after the Saturn rockets began launching, then Commercial Airplanes,” he said. “Our core competency is our reversed in the 1970s after the Apollo lunar exploration trips end- people. These guys are rocket scientists in some cases; all ed. By the early 1980s, the site’s staff numbered fewer than 50. our employees are passionate about their programs.” In 1981, Boeing moved its Automated Test Systems business The latest win for Boeing Huntsville was the U.S. Missile and more than 100 employees from Wichita, Kan., to Huntsville. Defense Agency’s decision last December to award Boeing the Other programs, many small and a few big, have arrived since then. Development and Sustainment Contract for future work on David Zajic, a production engineering manager at the Huntsville BOEING FRONTIERS / SEPTEMBER 2012 23
Frontiers September 2012 Issue
To see the actual publication please follow the link above