NASA awarded Lockheed Martin a one-year contract extension valued at $23 million to continue supporting efforts to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, the Bethesda, Maryland, company announced April 6.

Under the Cargo Mission contract, Lockheed Martin plans, processes and packs cargo launched to the space station from countries including Kazakhstan, Japan, French Guiana — a French territory ­— and the United States. According to Lockheed Martin’s press release, the company maintains more than 3 million station-bound items while also purchasing and preparing space station crew equipment.

When the Cargo Mission contract was originally awarded in December 2010, Lockheed Martin pegged its total potential value at $171 million, including a three-year base period and options running to 2017.

Lockheed Martin has won a one-year extension of a NASA contract to prepare space station cargo. The extension, valued at $23 million, is the second of four options in a contract awarded in 2010 to handle cargo for delivery to the ISS. The contract is separate from those currently held by Orbital ATK and SpaceX to transport cargo to the station on commercial vehicles; Lockheed is one of several companies competing for a follow-on contract.

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