“It’s a great team with a solid base of experience and a passion for the job they’re doing.” —Ginger Barnes, Boeing vice president and program manager for the Space Launch System program The evolvable design of the rocket provides the capability to launch astronauts to the moon, asteroids and even Mars. “It will reignite our imaginations to the possibilities of what human beings can achieve in terms of exploring our nearest neighbors in the solar system,” May added. A recent U.S. poll by YouGov Omnibus research found that two-thirds of those surveyed believe humans will set foot on the Red Planet in the next 50 years, and more than two in five believe it could happen in no more than 20 years. Virginia “Ginger” Barnes, Boeing’s vice president and program manager for the Space Launch System program, said Boeing has a diverse team of approximately 1,300 em-ployees working on the program. Most of them are based in Huntsville, Ala., and there is a growing presence at Michoud. Others are based in Houston, Cleveland, Southern California and Florida’s Space Coast. The program is also taking a “One Boeing” approach by tapping the talent and experience of people throughout the enterprise. “It’s a great team with a solid base of experience and a pas-sion for the job they’re doing,” Barnes said. “When I joined the program last year, I was amazed by the amount of work that had been accomplished. They have a spirit that drives them to ILLUSTRATION AND PHOTOS: (Far left) An artist’s concept of the Space Launch System, or SLS. BRANDON LUONG/BOEING; SLS GRAPHIC: BOEING (Above, clockwise from top left) Apollo 17 lifts off. NASA The vertical weld center at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. BOB FERGUSON/BOEING Ginger Barnes, Boeing vice president and program manager for the SLS, and Todd May, NASA program manager for the SLS. ERIC SHINDELBOWER/BOEING Frontiers February 2014 23
Frontiers February 2014 Issue
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