Neel Mehta
San Diego Composites has won the 2017 Small Business Subcontractor of the Year award from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in recognition of its support work on Orion spacecraft development efforts.
SDC produces components for Orion as a subcontractor to the spacecraft’s manufacturer Lockheed Martin, the space agency said Thursday.
The San Diego-based company supplied the Orion launch abort system’s ogive and fillet.
The launch abort system is designed to protect crew in the event of a high-risk situation at launch or during the spacecraft’s ascent.
SDC’s ogive will function as a protective shell around the crew module and guard the structure from environmental conditions, while the cone-shaped fillet will work to connect the launch abort system to the ogive.
NASA said the company also helps characterize materials and supports acceptance tests of Orion’s structural parts in a push to ensure the components comply with NASA standards.
