Apr 22 2008
From The Space Library
NASA announced that it had awarded a contract to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems to build the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) spacecraft. The award was one of NASA’s Rapid II indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts, covering core spacecraft systems with nonstandard services. LDCM was part of the Landsat Program, a joint mission of NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, which had been collecting multispectral imagery of Earth’s surface since 1972. In addition to providing the LDCM, NASA was responsible for providing the instruments, the launch vehicle, and missions operations for the ground systems. The delivery order, valued at US$116,306,179, obligated General Dynamics to design and to fabricate the LDCM spacecraft bus; to integrate the government-furnished instruments; to produce a spacecraft/observatory simulator; and to provide satellite-level testing, on-orbit satellite checkout, and continuing on-orbit engineering support.
NASA, “NASA Selects Contractor for Landsat Continuity Mission Spacecraft,” news release C08-021, 22 April 2008, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/apr/HQ_C08021_Landsat_Data.html (accessed 17 February 2008).
NASA announced that it had selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) for a contract with the Launch Services Program at NASA’s KSC . The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract stipulated that NASA would be able to place orders for the launch services of the Falcon-1 and Falcon-9 launch vehicles through 30 June 2010, and that ordered launches could take place through December 2012. SpaceX would have to be able to launch payloads of 551 pounds (249.93 kilograms) or more into a circular orbit of 124 miles (199.56 kilometers) at an orbital inclination of 28.5°. Since 1999, NASA had awarded launch services contracts two times per year to multiple launch services providers. NASA allowed the companies awarded contracts to compete for missions in support of NASA’s Science Directorate, Space Operations Directorate, and Exploration Directorate. The contract’s potential value was between US$20,000 and US$1 billion, depending upon the number of launches NASA actually ordered.
NASA, “NASA Awards Launch Services Contract to SpaceX,” news release C08-023, 22 April 2008, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/apr/HQ_C08023_KSC_launch_services.html (accessed 17 February 2001).
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