Lockheed Martin to build Orion for NASA

Lockheed Martin has managed to beat a team made up of Northrop Grumman and Boeing to take the NASA contract to build their next spacecraft named Orion.

The company has won a five-year, $3.9 billion contract to design and build this capsule-like U.S. spacecraft, which would take the NASA back to moon and much beyond that.

This craft would replace the aging fleet of NASA’s Space Shuttle, which has almost become a safety concern for the space agency after the infamous Columbia disaster.

NASA added that the contract could be worth much more than this amount if all the options of their discussions are exercised.

The first mission on this craft would however take place only after 2014. NASA expects to take the man back on moon using this craft by 2020.