NASA extends space shuttle main engine contract.
Press Release Summary:
According to $975 million contract extension signed by NASA, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., of Canoga Park, CA, will maintain the agency's fleet of space shuttle main engines until 2010 when the orbiter is retired. Contract also includes maintenance and refurbishment of existing shuttle main engines at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Each engine generates 400,000 lb of thrust, which works with twin solid rocket boosters to power spacecraft to orbit.
Original Press Release:
NASA Extends Space Shuttle Main Engine Contract
WASHINGTON - NASA has signed a $975 million contract extension with Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., of Canoga Park, Calif., to maintain the agency's fleet of space shuttle main engines until the orbiter is retired in 2010.
The contract began on April 1, 2006. It is scheduled to conclude Sept. 30, 2010. The $975 million contract extension brings the total value of the cost-plus-award/incentive fee contract to slightly more than $2.05 billion.
Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne supports the Shuttle Propulsion Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.; the Space Shuttle Program Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston; and the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The contract includes maintenance and refurbishment of existing shuttle main engines at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Each space shuttle is powered by three of the sophisticated engines, the world's only reusable rocket engines. During launch, each of the 7,750-pound engines burns liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, fed from the shuttle's external tank. Each engine generates approximately 400,000 pounds of thrust, which works with the shuttle's twin solid rocket boosters to power the spacecraft to orbit.
For more information about NASA's Space Shuttle Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-3749
katherine.trinidad@nasa.gov
Steve Roy
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
steven.e.roy@nasa.gov
