WATCH: Space Coast-Based All Points Presented Lockheed Martin Rigel Award for Work on Artemis Mission

By  //  July 15, 2021

Rigel Award presented to company that performs above and beyond its contractual obligations

WATCH: All Points was awarded the Rigel Award July 15 by Lockheed Martin for outstanding work on the Artemis Program.

WATCH: The leadership team of Space Coast-based All Points, discuss being named a Rigel Award winner from Lockheed Martin in an exclusive interview on Space Coast Daily TV. Interviewees include All Points Chief Development Officer Steve Lloyd, Chief Operating Officer Tom Niemeyer and All Points Vice President/ GM Kevin Repa.

All Points is becoming one of the engineering and software solution development companies helping lead the effort to make this vital time in the space industry a major success.

BREVARD COUNTY • MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA – The leadership team from Space Coast-based All Points discussed being named a Rigel Award winner from Lockheed Martin in an exclusive interview on Space Coast Daily TV.

The interview featured Chief Development Officer Steve Lloyd, Chief Operating Officer Tom Niemeyer and All Points Vice President/ GM Kevin Repa.

With the massive growth of the space industry on the Space Coast in recent years, All Points is becoming one of the engineering and software solution development companies helping lead the effort to make this vital time in the space industry a major success.

The Rigel Award is presented to a company that performs above and beyond its contractual obligations.

All Points has built an excellent reputation in solution development and systems integration in strategic, high risk, security sensitive, mission-critical domains such as Space, Intelligence, Defense and Cyber, while also providing consistent, low risk, cost-effective and reliable products and services to a wide variety of customers in the civilian and commercial sectors.

Established nearly 25 years ago as a Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), All Points Logistics, LLC has operations in 18 states and has grown into a leading solution provider to a diverse array of government and commercial customers.

Since 2013, All Points has been deeply involved at every major milestone of the Orion program as a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin (LM), developing the software and refining the technical capabilities of the multi-purpose crew vehicle that will carry astronauts beyond the Moon.

They have staked much of their identity on this long-range endeavor, and it has paid off. As winners of the 2019 Rigel, Supplier of the Year Award, which is given to the outstanding small business in the Orion program that goes above and “beyond contractual obligations” to make the program a success.

What Does it Mean?

Rigel (pronounced Rye-jul) is a star in the Orion constellation. Although it is designated the Beta star, Rigel actually shines brighter than the Alpha star, Betelgeuse.

Thus, “The Rigel Award is given to those subcontractors who shine above and beyond the call of duty for the Prime contractor,” reads the Lockheed-Martin award description. Above and beyond means several things: excellence in carrying out the contracted work, taking responsibility for a large scope of activities, and working as a true partner with both LM and NASA to innovate solutions for unknowable contingencies.

For All Points, this award affirms that they have 1.) deliberately grown toward our strengths and toward full-lifecycle software development, vehicle testing and training, and engineering support and 2.) have proven ourselves an adaptive prime partner capable of guiding subcontractors toward mission-focused outcomes. LM has 800 small business suppliers in 47 states and over 200 subcontractors specifically integral to Orion’s success.

Only one is chosen as Supplier of the Year for the Orion program.

All Points, a Merritt Island, Florida-based leader in engineering and software solution development programs, have again been independently verified as operating at the industry standard CMMI v2.0 Maturity Level 3 for development.

How Did We Get Here?

All Points’ work with the Orion program began in 2013 modestly with software development and validation for the multi-purpose crew vehicle (MPCV). During that time, they were able to establish ourselves as a deep talent pool with flexible capabilities and a unique big-picture focus.

In 2014, when LM awarded the Civil Space IDIQ contract, they delegated large chunks of responsibility under prime contract winners.

All Points was a prime winner, among the largest in the breadth of work assigned. This was a step forward for their team because it expanded their support beyond Orion to include multiple exploration and Earth-orbiting satellite programs.

Within Orion, it meant they were taking on life-cycle responsibility for design, developing and testing software to test and run the spacecraft through navigation, avionics, and life support systems.

In 2018, All Points was awarded a follow-on to the Civil Space IDIQ Contract, the Space Technical Services IDIQ Master Agreement. Under this contract, they have rigorously tested Orion software and supported simulation deployment for flight controller training at Johnson Space Center and for ground controllers at Kennedy Space Center. Orion has formally been turned over to NASA for integration with the SLS as of January, and this is just the beginning of production— NASA Orion spacecraft provides support of up to 12 missions.

Phil Monkress, left, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Space Coast-based All Points. He drives the company’s strategic and financial direction as head of All Point’s Executive Leadership Team and a leader in providing best-in-class products, services, and solutions to the Government and commercial marketplace. “Our customers expect consistent, high-quality software and products from All Points,” said Steve Lloyd, right, All Points’ Chief Development Officer and CMMI lead.  “This appraisal confirms that our processes have and will continue to meet the goals of a strong continuous improvement culture and excellent product delivery.”

After Artemis 1, preparations will be made for the spacecraft to support a crewed mission, modeling equations must be verified and/or adjusted, and the crew must be trained for Orion 2, which will put the first woman and next man on the Moon since 1972. NASA has already ordered six more spacecraft and will likely need up to 12 to fulfill its needs into their 2030 initiative of looking toward regular lunar exploration and then onto Mars.

The Expanding Horizon

Throughout All Points’ work with the Orion program, their team has grown by around 30%, working at every major node of the initiative from Integrated Test Laboratory in Denver to Mission Control in Houston, to the Ground Control System at Kennedy Space Center. The All Points team includes veterans of the Space Shuttle program, experts in physics, software and engineering, and testing and verification experts.

Their partnership mentality (no small factor in winning the Rigel award) comes from years of expertise in logistics and high-level program support. All Points cares about the mission most of all. Their dedication translates to advocating in Congress, being available to brainstorm solutions, and working extra hours to meet milestones.

All Points is seizing a once-in-a-generation chance to contribute to human deep space exploration. Their mission-focused, critical services will continue to make All Points viable partners and experts in many arenas that require fastidious work in flight and ground system software, IT, sensor programs, and intelligence data.

Orion is just the beginning—ultimately, their experiences with this project will enrich their company history and expand their horizons.

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