Mark Hess/Ed Campion
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                       May 3, 1994
(Phone:  202/358-1778)                          4:00 p.m. EDT

Dom Amatore
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone:  205/544-0034)

Release:  94-68

YELLOW CREEK FACILITIES TO PERFORM SHUTTLE NOZZLE WORK

   NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin today announced agency 
plans to proceed with an effort to use the nearly-completed 
facilities at Yellow Creek in Iuka, Miss., originally designed for 
use with the proposed Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM), for use 
with the manufacture of nozzles for the current Space Shuttle 
Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) program.

   "Since the idea of utilizing the Yellow Creek facility for RSRM 
nozzle work was announced last December, NASA and the Thiokol 
Corporation have worked closely to complete a detailed 
implementation plan.  After reviewing their efforts, I have 
directed the Office of Space Flight, through the Marshall Space 
Flight Center, to proceed with the implementation of this 
activity," Goldin said.

   The transition effort for nozzle work at Yellow Creek will 
begin immediately.  It is expected to take approximately 2 1/2 
years to fully qualify the facility and the nozzles that are 
manufactured at the site.

   Thiokol plans to move all of their nozzle operations to the 
Yellow Creek facility.  They will assume the capital investment 
costs to complete the facility transition effort which has been 
estimated at approximately $88 million.  Thiokol also will seek 
new government and private sector customers to maximize the 
potential use of the facility.

   Thiokol will establish a nozzle "center of excellence" at 
Yellow Creek and invest in nozzle research.  This effort will be 
of benefit to NASA and the 
American launch industry as a whole, once enhancements are 
perfected.  For the Shuttle Program, the relocation of the RSRM 
nozzle manufacturing from Utah to Yellow Creek provides the 
opportunity to upgrade and consolidate the manufacturing process 
under one roof and increase the use of automation.  

                              -more-

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   Goldin explained that "because the federal government has 
invested a significant amount of taxpayer money in the 
construction of state-of-the-art facilities at Yellow Creek, NASA 
is committed to obtaining the maximum possible return on this 
investment while at the same time attempting to mitigate the 
economic impact on the Iuka region resulting from last year's ASRM 
termination."

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