Raytheon keeps NASA buoyancy lab services contract
By
Ross Wilkers
Raytheon will continue its support of a NASA gravity simulation facility under a new potential seven-year, $154.5 million contract.
Raytheon has won a potential seven-year, $154.5 million contract to continue its support of a NASA astronaut training facility that simulates the gravity experienced during spaceflight.
This award represents a retention of Raytheon's work under the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory Operations Contract first awarded to the company in 2010. The new NOC iteration contains a two-year base period that starts Oct. 1, followed by a one-year option and a pair of two-year options.
Based at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory houses a 6.2 million-gallon pool for astronauts to perform simulated EVA tasks ahead of upcoming missions.
Services under the NOC contract includes production of enriched oxygen for breathing life support systems for spacewalk procedure development and verification, operation of human-rated robotic systems, integrated audio and video systems, Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus training and evaluations, and computer network systems.
NASA says the contract supports programs such as the International Space Station, Orion spacecraft and Commercial Crew Program.