NASA has awarded a $1.14 billion contract to the
Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power unit of the Boeing Company,
Canoga Park, Calif., for maintenance and support of the Space
Shuttle Main Engine for the next five years.
The contract calls for Rocketdyne to support the Space
Shuttle flight manifest. Support includes on-going flight and
test engineering, as well as engine refurbishment. In
addition, the contract requires the manufacture, assembly,
test and delivery of three additional Space Shuttle Main
Engines.
The contract also provides engineering support to both Main
Engine processing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., and
Main Engine test firing at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space
Center, Miss., as well as engine design, manufacturing and
engineering management at the Rocketdyne facility.
A cluster of three Main Engines on each Shuttle provides much
of the power needed to launch into low-Earth orbit. They are
the world’s only large reusable liquid rocket engines. After
the Shuttle orbiter lands, the engines are checked and
prepared for the next flight. Some components are returned to
Rocketdyne for refurbishment.
The Space Shuttle Main Engine Project is managed by NASA’s
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Marshall is a
key leader for NASA’s development of space transportation and
propulsion systems.
Rocketdyne has been providing Shuttle Main Engines since
1972, assembling 106 engines.
