RUAG, a Swiss producer of composite parts for the aerospace industry and United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, have formed a new strategic partnership in which RUAG will establish production in ULA’s factory in Decatur, Georgia.
RUAG already delivers carbon fiber structures for ULA’s Atlas launchers – the payload fairing for the larger Atlas V-500 launcher as well as the interstage adapter for the smaller Atlas V-400. RUAG currently produces these structures in Switzerland at its Zurich and Emmen locations. Beginning in 2018, the structures are to be produced in Decatur, where RUAG will also manufacture other carbon fiber structures for the new Vulcan launcher. RUAG will continue to manufacture the payload fairings for the European Ariane and Vega rockets in Switzerland.
‘We’re pleased with this new partnership that leverages so many mutually beneficial business objectives, while substantially lowering costs,’ said Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and CEO. ‘As ULA looks to the future, we will transform the future of space launch by making space more affordable and accessible, while continuing to deliver on ULA’s unparalleled reliability and precision.’
This story is reprinted from material from RUAG, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
