RACE TO THE MOON
On the 5th anniversary of shuttle crash, Rusk company makes giant contribution to NASA's Orion moon project
BY LELAND ACKER
When Joel Jackson, of Rusk, began racing at the age of 16, he did not think his racing career would take him to the moon. However, his off-road race car building expertise has attracted the attention of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

PHOTO: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

"NASA contacted us along with 28 other companies," Mr. Jackson said. "They visited with us here."

NASA has contracted with RaceFab to build two moon rovers for the Orion Moon mission, which is to build a space station on the moon.

"There were a number of qualifications we had to meet," Mr. Jackson said. "We had to be certified to the aircraft level of welding. We almost exclusively work in space frame chassis."

"They actually consulted us for the design," said Jason Jackson, Mr. Jackson's son who also works at RaceFab.

"The moon rovers will be used to build the station and roads," Jefferson Jackson, Mr. Jackson's other son who works with RaceFab said. "The rover is a 12-wheeled vehicle nicknamed, 'The Chariot.'"

The Jackson family, owners and operators of Racefab, Inc., of Rusk, displays a race car they are currently building. Their expertise in space-frame chassis and off-road racing attracted the attention of NASA, who has contracted with Racefab to build moon rovers for the Orion Moon Project. Pictured are (from left): Jason Jackson, Jefferson Jackson, Marty Jackson and Joel Jackson.

Jason, Jefferson, Mr. Jackson and his wife, Marty, all work together in the RaceFab company. Jason and Jefferson are both graduates of Rusk High School, with Jason graduating from Stephen F. Austin State University with an Art degree, while Jefferson graduated from SFA with a physics degree. Mrs. Jackson handles the marketing.

"We can raise and lower the right half of the vehicle from ground level to 20 inch clearance," Jefferson said. "It has 360 degree steering in all of its wheels."

"It can turn in its tracks," Mr. Jackson said.

"It can be run by a driver or by radio control from Houston, or it can run autonomously," Jefferson said.

"One of Jefferson's projects in school was to make an autonomous vehicle," Mr. Jackson said.

"(The moon rover) can climb stairs or cliffs," Jefferson said. "We're writing programs for each scenario."

Mr. Jackson said when the two moon rovers have been completed, NASA will take the vehicles to Arizona for testing. NASA plans to put the moon rovers into use in 2020.

The moon rover project comes on the heels of Mr. Jackson's racing career. His resume includes building cars for Carroll Shelby and the Mario Andretti driving school.

"I worked as a fabricator, crew chief and designer at the Chrysler-Shelby Development Center in Santa Fe Springs, Calif.," Mr. Jackson said. "I built the prototype to the Viper Project. We were trying to help Chrysler develop a performance image."

When Mr. Shelby cut his ties with Chrysler, Mr. Jackson sold a race car he built and bought the equipment to start RaceFab.

"We started this company in 1991," Mrs. Jackson said.

"We relocated to Houston and built 82 Shelby Can- Am cars," Mr. Jackson said, adding that those cars are currently racing on a circuit in South Africa. "Once Mr. Shelby knew we had our own company, we got the contract (to build the Can-Am cars)."

Mr. Jackson said he became familiar with Rusk when he traveled to Tyler to sell four race cars to Tyler Jett.

"We decided we really liked it around here," Mr. Jackson said.

"We moved here in 1999," Mrs. Jackson said.

RaceFab has built many race cars, from road racers to off-road racers. Some have won championships, some have not fared so well.

\"We had a Baja driver roll one over," Mr. Jackson said. "There are some disappointments."