Dec 20 2007
From The Space Library
NASA announced that it had awarded a US$695 million contract to Boeing Satellite Systems of El Segundo, California, to design, develop, and fabricate two new Tracking and Data Relay Satellites—TDRS-K and TDRS-L. Under the terms of the contract, Boeing would also integrate, test, ship, provide launch support, conduct in-orbit checkout operations, and provide sustaining engineering support for the satellites. In addition, Boeing would design, assemble, test, install, and verify modifications necessary to making the ground terminals at NASA’s White Sands Complex in New Mexico fully compatible with the new TDRS spacecraft design. The period of performance for the contract, which had a value of up to US$1.22 billion, could extend through April 2025 if NASA exercised its options. These included two additional spacecraft, TDRS-M and TDRS-N. The contract would extend the lifetime of the TDRS system, the primary source of voice, data, and telemetry for the Space Shuttle and ISS programs, and would provide those services for NASA’s Constellation Program.
NASA, “NASA Awards Tracking and Data Relay Satellite Contract,” news release C07-064, 20 December 2007, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/dec/HQ_C07064_TDRSS_Awards.html (accessed 20 October 2010); Clinton Parks, “Boeing Satellite Systems Wins $695 Million TDRS Contract,” Space.com, 21 December 2007.
NASA issued a statement in support of astronaut Daniel M. Tani and his family. Tani, stationed at the ISS, had lost his mother on 19 December when she died in an automobile accident. NASA spokesperson Eileen M. Hawley remarked that NASA believed this was the first time an American astronaut had lost a family member while on a mission in space. The statement indicated that NASA intended to provide Tani and his family with any assistance they needed. Hawley explained that NASA did not have a prescribed policy for emergencies such as this and would respond according to Tani’s wishes.
NASA, “NASA Statement on the Death of Astronaut Dan Tani’s Mother,” news release 07-282, 20 December 2007, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/dec/HQ_07282_Mike_Coays_Statement.html (accessed 20 October 2010); Mark Carreau and Carol Christian, “Space Station Astronaut’s Mom Dies in Car Wreck,” Houston Chronicle, 20 December 2007.
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