December 1974
From The Space Library
A total of 349 NASA Civil Service employees, including Associate Deputy Administrator Willis H. Shapley, retired under an "early out" retirement plan authorized by the Civil Service Commission. Under the plan employees could retire if they were at least 50 yrs of age and had 20 yrs of service or if they had 25 yrs of service, regardless of age. NASA had requested the retirement authority, which would extend through 28 Feb. 1975, to minimize effects of a reduction in force scheduled for February at Marshall Space Flight Center and of end of FY 1975 ceilings at Headquarters and elsewhere. NASA also announced a plan to reassign some Headquarters employees to Centers.
Retirees included 50 at Headquarters, 50 at Goddard Space Flight Center, 78 at Langley Research Center, 68 at MSFC, 28 at Lewis Research Center, 26 at Ames Research Center, 16 at Kennedy Space Flight Center, 14 at Johnson Space Flight Center, 10 at Flight Research Center, and 8 at Wallops Flight Center. By 31 Dec. NASA'S permanent Civil Service strength totaled 24 619-303 over its end of FY 1975 ceiling. (NASA Gen Mgt Rev Rpt, 20 Jan 75, 11-12; NASA Ann, 12 Dec 74; NASA Deputy Admin memo to Hq employees, 23 Dec 74)
Marshall Space Flight Center awarded more than $28.2 million in contracts of $25 000 or more. Among awards were $2 253 300 to Inscho's Mechanical Contractors, Inc., for construction of the X-Ray Telescope Facility at MSFC; also $695 000 to Lockheed Aircraft Corp. and $687 201 to Martin Marietta Corp., for Large Space Telescope support system module studies. (MSFC Release 75-18)
