But NasaEoe1/4aos budget is not big enough to cover the cost of ConstellationEoe1/4aos Orion capsule, a more advanced and spacious version of the
Apollo lunar module, and the Ares 1 and Ares V launchers needed to put it in orbit.
Grumman's former president and chairman, George Skurla, and William Gregory, a former editor of Aviation Week and Space Technology, trace the company's rise from its humble beginnings in the 1930s, through World War II, to the success of the Navy's A-6 Intruder, E-2C Hawkeye, EA-6B Prowler, F-14 Tomcat, and NASA's
Apollo Lunar Module. The authors describe how Grumman's former president, Lew Evans, bought into the F-14 contract which nearly bankrupted the company and led to the Navy's lightweight fighter dilemma.