Textron Defense Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company, announced today that it has been selected to provide thermal protection heat shields for the Orion crew exploration vehicle. The company spent more than three years refining its Avcoat ablative material for the Orion thermal protection system, leading up to the final selection by the NASA Orion Project Office and prime contractor Lockheed Martin on behalf of NASA’s Constellation Program.

The Orion crew exploration vehicle, under development by NASA’s Constellation Program, is targeted to achieve a mission to the International Space Station by 2015, land astronauts on the moon by 2020, and eventually complete a mission to Mars. Textron Defense Systems has been chosen to provide heat shields capable of protecting the Orion spacecraft and its crew for a safe return to Earth from these missions.

“Our company’s Avcoat material was utilized successfully in the Apollo program missions” explains Senior Vice President and General Manager Mark Catizone of Textron Defense Systems.