NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., has extended the
period of performance of the Payload Ground Operations
Contract (PGOC) held for the last 15 years by The Boeing
Company at Kennedy Space Center. The contract expires June
30, 2002.

This cost-plus-award-fee extension through September 30,
2002, is valued at $25.3 million and brings the total
contract value to almost $2 billion.

The extension provides for ground support, test, integration
and de-integration of space shuttle and expendable launch
vehicle payloads, including flight elements of the
International Space Station; operation and maintenance of
associated facilities and ground systems; and support of the
government’s top priorities of safety, mission success, and
payload-developer/customer satisfaction.

This action ensures uninterrupted program support through the
PGOC and bridges the gap in performance between June 30,
2002, and the award of the follow-on contract to PGOC — the
Checkout, Assembly and Payload Processing Services (CAPPS)
contract.

The original PGOC contract was initiated in January 1987 with
McDonnell Douglas Space and Defense Systems.