On Jan. 31, NASA will sign a Mentor-Protege agreement with The Boeing Company and AMRO Fabricating Corporation to work together in support of the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) -- a new rocket that will launch humans farther into space that ever before.

The NASA Mentor-Protege Program pairs large companies with eligible small businesses to enhance capabilities and enable them to successfully compete for larger, more complex prime contract and subcontract awards.

Media are invited to the event that begins at 10 a.m. PST at the AMRO facility, located at 1430 Adelia Avenue in South El Monte, Calif., 91733.

NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold, along with NASA, Boeing and AMRO officials, will be available for interviews. AMRO is a certified, small, minority woman-owned manufacturing company located near Los Angeles which specializes in the manufacturing of lightweight metallic structures for demanding environments on missiles, launch vehicles and spacecraft. AMRO currently supports Boeing core stage development by manufacturing the aluminum alloy panels that make up the large barrels of the stages.

In addition to the AMRO Mentor-Protege event, SLS is partnering with the Orion Program -- the spacecraft that will sit atop the SLS rocket and carry humans, cargo, equipment and science experiments into deep space -- to visit other institutions and companies in the southern California area that are providing support for the vehicles. The team will visit California State Polytechnic University at noon Thursday, Jan. 30, and speak to students there. This event is open to the public and the media.

SLS and Orion will expand our reach in the solar system, allowing astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft to explore multiple, deep-space destinations including an asteroid and ultimately Mars. Orion's first mission will launch later this year, and carry an uncrewed capsule farther into space than any spacecraft designed for humans has gone in more than 40 years, before returning to Earth at speeds of up to 20,000 miles per hour. SLS is scheduled to have its first test flight in 2017.

Media interested in covering the AMRO Mentor-Protege or the California State Polytechnic University event should contact Shannon Ridinger at Shannon.j.ridinger@nasa.gov or 256-541-7698. Additional interview opportunities with SLS and Orion representatives during the week are also available upon request.

For more information about progress on NASA's next human exploration launch vehicle and spacecraft, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/

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NASA Signs Mentor-Protege Agreement With AMRO Fabricating Corporation Near Los Angeles