ASRC Federal confirms $208M Air Force rocket engine test support contract
By
Ross Wilkers
ASRC Federal will help the Air Force Research Laboratory test and evaluate rocket propulsion technologies under a $208 million contract.
ASRC Federal has confirmed its win of a potential 10-year, $208 million contract to provide test, evaluation and operational support services to the Air Force Research Laboratory.
AFRL sought the services to support its efforts to develop new engines and other rocket propulsion technologies for launch vehicles, ASRC Federal said Friday.
The contract previously was the subject of a protest battle for almost a full year after it was originally awarded to ASRC Federal in July 2016.
Shortly after the award, incumbent Jacobs Technology filed a protest and Government Accountability Office sustained the company’s challenge in part in October 2016 to give them another shot at the award.
The Air Force re-evaluated proposals and again chose ASRC Federal for the contract in April 2017. Jacobs protested again one month later but that time GAO denied the protest. That cleared the way for ASRC Federal to start work.
ASRC Federal will help AFRL design, construct and modify its rocket test facilities and systems. AFRL envisions the contract as part of the Air Force’s larger effort to reduce its dependence on foreign technologies such as the Russian RD-180 rocket engine.