Delaware's congressional delegates celebrate ILC's spacesuit deal - preserving jobs for the foreseeable future.

ILC celebrates spacesuit deal

Manufacturer's partnership will preserve jobs, continue Del.'s legacy in space

By JAMES MERRIWEATHER • The News Journal • January 27, 2009

About 100 ILC Dover employees who design and make spacesuits were applauded Monday by the state's congressional delegation, which hailed an agreement that will preserve their mission for the foreseeable future.

Last year, it appeared that ILC Dover, which had been outfitting astronauts since the Apollo missions of the 1960s, had lost out on a contract to provide the spacesuit that would follow those crafted by the company for the moon missions and space shuttle flights.

But a deal negotiated with the help of the congressional delegation calls for ILC to join the successful bidder, Oceaneering International of Houston, in producing 109 space suits for trips to the moon and the international space station -- beginning with space station flights in 2015. ILC and Delaware would see their space program legacy extended and, with the possibility of new jobs being created, possibly expanded.

The contract for the next-generation spacesuits has not yet been signed. And even if it doesn't come to pass, ILC President William Wallach said, the jobs devoted to the mission would not necessarily be jeopardized. He said the skills of ILC workers were readily transferable to other high-tech endeavors, such as the company's current production of equipment used by pharmaceutical firms to protect workers from exposure to hazardous materials. He added that the 62-year-old company was constantly looking for new opportunities.

"We're always looking to grow," Wallach said of ILC, which employs 400 workers.

"We've been diversifying quite a bit over the last 10 years, and the pharmaceutical [product line] is a good example of that."

Sen. Tom Carper said that, given these scary economic times, it's essential to preserve existing jobs and to create and attract new ones whenever possible.

"These are 400 good jobs that flow from what we do in space," Carper, D-Del., said.

"These days, there are no bad jobs. But these are good jobs, and it's incumbent on us to try to keep them."

Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del., appointed to assume the Senate seat vacated by Vice President Joe Biden, described his appearance at ILC headquarters just outside Frederica as his "maiden journey" as a member of Delaware's congressional delegation.

"I'm here under false pretenses because I had absolutely noting to do with this," he said with a chuckle. "But this is really good news, and it couldn't have come at a better time."

Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., said negotiations that led to the agreement with Oceaneering were not easy.