KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) announced today that its global government services business, KBRwyle, has been awarded a $48 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to construct, deploy and commission the next generation Space Geodesy (SG) Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) ground systems.
KBRwyle will deliver up to six SLR systems on this contract. It will also provide project management, engineering development, system build, documentation, acceptance testing and other services.
KBRwyle’s efforts will help maintain and enhance the geodetic infrastructure that enables modern geodesy and supports NASA’s earth science missions. Geodesy is the science of accurately measuring, with the highest precision, the Earth’s geometric shape, gravity and orientation in space, including their evolution in time.
The KBRwyle-built systems will be part of the new NASA Space Geodetic Network (NSGN), which will provide high-quality millimeter data for the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF).
The ITRF is a world spatial reference system that is the foundation for virtually all Earth observations. The SLR systems’ data will feed into this reference frame, enabling scientists to assign coordinates to points and objects and determine how those points and objects move over time.
The ITRF is critical to spacecraft tracking and navigation, as well as all georeferenced data used by society. Additionally, it provides measurements that help scientists better understand the impact of geohazards, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, tsunamis, floods, storm surges and hurricanes.
“We are proud of our role in building the future of NASA space geodesy,” said Byron Bright, President, KBR Government Services U.S. “KBRwyle’s work on these cutting-edge systems will help NASA survey the world. The systems’ data has the potential to profoundly and positively impact science, and, ultimately, humankind.”
KBRwyle will primarily perform this work at its office in Lanham, Maryland, as well as GSFC and other locations around the world. The contract award period is seven years.
KBRwyle has advanced SLR capabilities around the world for over 35 years and is a provider of key ground systems and mission operations to NASA, the U.S. Air Force and NOAA. It has supplied full life cycle satellite operations support for over 700 spacecraft since 1958. With its recent acquisition of space services provider Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies Inc. (SGT), KBRwyle will continue to solve the space industry’s most challenging problems.
Estimated revenue associated with this contract award will be booked into backlog of unfilled orders for KBR’s Government Services business segment.
