NASA awarded incumbent Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) of McLean, Va., a Safety and Mission Assurance Engineering Contract worth $202.5 million over five years to support engineering programs at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Under this contract, SAIC will support Johnson’s Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate in providing programmatic support to the international space station, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, Johnson’s Extravehicular Activity and Advanced Exploration Systems Offices, and any future programs and projects performed by Johnson, NASA said. 

NASA said some work will be performed by SAIC subcontractors, including ARES Corp. of Burlingame, Calif.; GHG Corp. of Webster, Texas; JES Tech of Houston; and Millennium Engineering and Integration Co. of Arlington, Va.

NASA announced the award in a June 10 press release. The performance period for the contract begins Oct. 1 and has a three-year base period with a pair of one-year options, according to NASA’s press release. 

The contract and its two options are worth $150 million, NASA spokesman Kyle Herring said June 11. The agreement also includes three so-called max-flex options potentially worth $50.2 million in total, Herring said. These options allow NASA to stick with SAIC for engineering support services in case there is “something that needs to be added to the contract. Or if NASA sets up another program that is not right now foreseen,” Herring said.

SAIC is still working under the last Safety and Mission Assurance Support Engineering Contract it got, which dates back to 2006. Herring said the last contract was to be a five-year agreement, including options, but was extended for two years as Johnson processed a bevy of top-level changes at NASA, including the end of the space shuttle program, the ramp-up of commercial cargo delivery to the international space station, and the cancellation and resurrection of the Johnson-managed Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.