REDONDO BEACH, Calif., March 2, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has won NASA's highly prized George M. Low Award, the agency's premier award for demonstrated excellence and outstanding technical and managerial achievements in quality and performance.
The company's Space Technology sector was honored in the large business-product category at NASA's 19th Continual Improvement and Reinvention Conference.
"We are extraordinarily pleased to receive NASA's premier award for our performance over the past five years," said Alexis Livanos, president, Northrop Grumman Space Technology. "Space Technology is deeply committed to making business process improvements and maintaining our record of 100 percent mission success on orbit. At all levels in our organization, we are working continuously to improve program, cost and schedule excellence to further NASA's mission and that of all our customers."
The George M. Low Award was named after a NASA leader who was dedicated to quality and excellence. Low's career and achievements spanned many fields, including space science, aeronautics, technology and education. In the space program, Low provided management and direction for the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and advanced piloted mission programs.
To qualify for the Low Award, a contractor must be chosen as a top contractor by one of NASA's Centers in the previous year. Northrop Grumman qualified after winning the Goddard Contractor Excellence Award last year from the Goddard Space Flight Center.
Contractors are evaluated on seven criteria, including customer satisfaction and technical performance; schedule; cost; management initiatives responsive to NASA's strategic goals; leadership and continuous improvement; technology breakthroughs; and special interest items.
Northrop Grumman has been a partner with NASA since 1958, when it delivered the first satellite built by an industrial contractor to NASA -- Pioneer 1. Northrop Grumman is now leading the design and development of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which will use the largest deployable space telescope ever built to witness the birth of stars and planetary systems and to get a better understanding of the intriguing dark matter.
Northrop Grumman Space Technology, based in Redondo Beach, Calif., develops a broad range of systems at the leading edge of space, defense and electronics technology. The sector creates products for U.S. military and civilian customers that contribute significantly to the nation's security and leadership in science and technology.