Orbital Sciences Corporation
announced today that the U.S. General Services Administration
(GSA) has awarded a five-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ)
contract for professional engineering services to the company’s Technical
Services Division (TSD).
The contract, which includes an option for a second
five-year term, could potentially produce revenues of about $20 million.
Orbital’s TSD, which is located in Greenbelt, Maryland, has served as a
consistent source of long-term growth for the company, with annual revenues
increasing more than 100% over the past five years, from about $30 million in
1995 to approximately $70 million in 1999.

As a primary purchasing agent for the U.S. Government, the GSA uses a type
of contract vehicle called a “schedule” to allow federal agencies to procure
engineering services from commercial suppliers that have been previously
selected through a competitive process.
Under the GSA schedule, government
agencies and their authorized contractors can, in a streamlined and cost-
effective manner, identify and choose qualified companies to perform specific
tasks.

“As part of the GSA’s Professional Engineering Services Schedule,
Orbital’s first-rate technical services will now be readily available to a
wider range of government agencies than ever before,” said Mr. Richard J.
Hicks, Vice President of Orbital’s TSD.
“We anticipate that this contract
will help open the door to new business opportunities, while maintaining or
increasing our already sizable engineering services work with NASA and the
Department of Defense.”

The GSA contract covers mechanical and electrical engineering and related
multi-discipline engineering tasks.
It positions Orbital’s TSD to compete for
additional professional engineering services business in all phases of program
development, including strategic planning; concept definition and requirements
analysis; system design; engineering and integration; test and evaluation; and
logistics.
In addition, Orbital’s TSD also offers complete acquisition and
life cycle management, including procurement, project management and
configuration management.

Orbital TSD provides technical and management support to U.S. Government
agencies, typically supplying engineers, scientists, technicians and other
professionals to work with a customer’s technical staff.
Its capabilities
encompass a broad range of aerospace and related engineering functions at the
system, subsystem and design levels.
These core engineering capabilities
include: electrical (analog and digital); optical and opto-mechanical;
thermal; stress; structural; guidance, navigation and control; electro-
mechanical; RF and communications; software; safety; reliability; parts; and
quality/system assurance.
TSD also offers a space-qualified electrical
manufacturing facility, an extensive CAD/CAE/CAM design staff and facility and
a state-of-the-art optical clean room.

Orbital is one of the largest space technology and satellite services
companies in the world, with 1999 total enterprise revenues (including
revenues from unconsolidated affiliates) of approximately $915 million. The
company, headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, employs over 5,000 people at major
facilities in the U.S., Canada and several overseas locations.
Orbital is the
world’s leading manufacturer of low-cost space systems, including satellites
and space robotics, launch vehicles, electronics and sensors, satellite ground
systems and related digital infrastructure.
Its Magellan subsidiary is a
pioneer in satellite-based navigation and communications products for consumer
and industrial markets.
Through its ORBCOMM and ORBIMAGE affiliates and
ORBNAV subsidiary, Orbital is also a major operator of satellite-based
networks that provide data communications, high-resolution imagery and
automotive information services to customers around the world.