Monday, March 18, 2013
Astrotech Corp. (ASTC) Business Division Awarded Task Order Contract by NASA for SMAP Spacecraft Processing
Astrotech, a leading provider of commercial space services, recently announced that its subsidiary, Astrotech Space Operations (ASO), was awarded a NASA task order contract to provide payload processing services for the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite at ASO’s Vandenberg Air Force Base facility located in California.
SMAP serves as the second mission awarded by NASA under the current Not-to-Exceed $16 million
Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) task order contract that runs through December, 2017. Scheduled to launch in October, 2014, the Jet Propulsion Lab satellite will gather global measurements of soil and its freeze/thaw state from space. The applied science mission, scheduled for a three-year period, will enhance weather forecasts and climate monitoring and prediction capabilities.
“Astrotech is proud to have been selected by NASA for this important earth science mission,” commented ASO General Manager Don M. White, Jr. “We are excited to be part of a mission that will provide valuable information about our planet. SMAP will increase understanding of the conditions that influence floods and droughts, wildfires, ecosystem health, water resources, agriculture and forestry.”
As of January, NASA awarded a Not-to-Exceed $12.1 million Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity
(IDIQ) task order contract to ASO Florida which requires the company to provide commercial payload processing services for satellites launched at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Astrotech Space Operations provides all support from corporate locations in Titusville, Florida, and Vandenberg AFB, California. This covers all necessary support for government and commercial customers to successfully process their satellite hardware for launch, which includes advance planning; use of unique facilities; and spacecraft checkout, encapsulation, fueling, and transport. Astrotech, in its 31-year history, has supported the successful processing of more than 300 spacecraft.
For more information on Astrotech, visit www.spacehab.com
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