Feb 27 2009
From The Space Library
NASA announced the award of an interim letter contract to Oceaneering International of Houston, to begin designing, developing, and producing a new spacesuit system for the Constellation Program. The interim contract required Oceaneering International to begin work on the basic period of performance, while NASA and the company negotiated the final terms. The interim contract, valued at US$9.6 million, would be in effect from 2 March 2009 until NASA and Oceaneering had defined the full contract—no later than 29 August 2009. NASA had initially awarded this contract to Oceaneering International and to five subcontractors in June 2008. However, a losing bidder, Exploration Systems and Technology, had protested the award. Exploration Systems and Technology was a joint venture between Connecticut-based Hamilton Sundstrand and Delaware-based ILC Dover, the two companies that had developed the spacesuits worn by NASA’s Shuttle and ISS astronauts. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) had evaluated the protest, which had led to the termination of NASA’s contract with Oceaneering International in August 2008. NASA had reopened the competition in November 2008, at which time Hamilton Sundstrand and ILC Dover had joined Oceaneering International to submit a single proposal.
NASA, “NASA Awards Contract for Constellation Spacesuit for the Moon,” news release C09-008, 27 February 2009, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/feb/HQ_C09-008_Constellation_Spacesuit_ Contract_Letter.html (accessed 4 May 2011); Mark Carreau, “Houston’s Oceaneering International Inc. Wins Once Disputed NASA Space Suit Contract,” Houston Chronicle, 2 March 2009.
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