NASA has incorporated six, one-month content adjustments that provide options for continuation of services to support fly-out of the space shuttle manifest beyond Thursday, March 31. If all options are exercised, this extension to the Space Program Operations Contract with United Space Alliance (USA) of Houston is valued at $436,480,084. NASA plans to exercise four, one-month options to support the current shuttle manifest.

The contract covers work and support for mission design and planning; software development and integration; astronaut and flight controller training; system integration; flight operations; vehicle processing, launch and recovery; vehicle sustaining engineering; flight crew equipment processing; and space shuttle and International Space Station-related support to the Constellation Program. The contract is a cost reimbursement contract, with provisions for award and performance fees.

Work in support of this contract is performed at USA's facilities in Houston; Huntsville, Ala.; NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; major subcontractor facilities in Huntington Beach, Calif.; Houston; and Cape Canaveral, Fla. Significant subcontractors include Barrios Technology of Houston; Bastion Technologies Inc. of Houston; Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems of Newtown, Pa.; Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif.; and The Boeing Company of Houston.

NASA Awards Space Shuttle Main Engine Contract Modification

NASA has also signed a $36.9 million contract modification to space shuttle main engine manufacturer Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., to provide continued shuttle main engine prelaunch and launch support from April 1 through July 31.

The contract modification also provides two additional options that if exercised, would bring the potential contract amount for all six months to $56 million.

This modification supports the flyout of the Space Shuttle Program and brings the total potential value of the contract to $2.29 billion. The original contract began on Jan. 1, 2002.

The majority of the work will take place at Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne's headquarters in Canoga Park.

Three main engines and two solid rocket boosters provide the thrust to launch the space shuttle. At 14-feet long and seven-and-a-half feet in diameter at the nozzle exit, the liquid propellant main engines have a combined thrust of more than 1.2 million pounds.

Share This Article With Planet Earth