Fact-Finding Visit August 27, 2003 Lockheed Martin Missles and Fire Control Systems Facility Grand Prairie, Texas Members of the Return to Flight Task Group's Technical Panel inspect a mold used to form reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) wing leading edge panels during an Aug. 27, 2003, visit to the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Systems facility in Grand Prairie, Texas. The facility manufactures and refurbishes the RCC thermal protection components for the Space Shuttle. The task group is chartered to make an independent assessment of NASA's implementation of the return to flight recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. View Larger Photo Dave Johnson, Space Systems manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Systems in Grand Prairie, Texas, explains the wing leading edge final assembly fixture to members of the Return to Flight Task Group's Technical Panel during an Aug. 27, 2003, fact-finding visit. The company fabricates and refurbishes reinforced carbon-carbon thermal protection components for the Space Shuttle. The task group is chartered to make an independent assessment of NASA's implementation of the return to flight recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. View Larger Photo Carlos Noriega, the NASA astronaut representative assigned to support the Return to Flight Task Group, inspects a Space Shuttle wing leading edge reinforced carbon-carbon thermal protection system panel during a tour of the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Systems facility in Grand Prairie, Texas. Members of the task group's Technical Panel visited the facility where Space Shuttle RCC thermal protections system components are manufactured and refurbished. The task group is chartered to make an independent assessment of NASA's implementation of the return to flight recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. View Larger Photo Members of the Return to Flight Task Group inspect the wing leading edge final assembly fixture during an Aug. 27, 2003, fact-finding visit to Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Systems in Grand Prairie, Texas. The company fabricates and refurbishes reinforced carbon-carbon thermal protection components for the Space Shuttle. The task group is chartered to make an independent assessment of NASA's implementation of the return to flight recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. View Larger Photo Back to Multimedia Privacy | Disclaimer | Accessibility