NASA Selects Construction Management Services Acquisition Contractor

NASA has selected small business Firelake-Arrowhead NASA Services Joint Venture of Lawrence, Kansas, to acquire construction management, inspection, surveying, and testing services at NASA centers across the country.

The Construction Management, Inspection, Surveying, and Testing (CMIST-II) contract was competed as a Small Business 8(a) set-aside, and the maximum contract value is approximately $38.8 million.

This is a hybrid contract with firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee for base services plus a firm-fixed price indefinite-delivery/indefinite aspect performed at NASA’s Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in Cleveland and Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. It also will have a firm-fixed price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity aspect, which can be performed at any NASA center.

The performance period begins Monday, April 1, and includes a 30-day phase-in period, a two-year base period, a two-year option, a one-year option, and a six-month option, with the potential to extend services through Nov. 30, 2029.

The contractor will manage construction projects and maintenance tasks from initial concepts through completion, including requirements development, design, construction, commissioning, activation, and turnover. Leidos, Inc., of Reston, Virginia, is a subcontractor.

For information about NASA and other agency programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov

Jan Wittry
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
216-433-5466
jan.m.wittry-1@nasa.gov

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Abbey A. Donaldson

NASA, Salisbury U. Enact Agreement for Workforce Development  

NASA and Salisbury University (SU) in Maryland signed a collaborative Space Act Agreement Thursday, March 28, 2024, opening new opportunities at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The agreement forges a formal partnership to identify research and engineering projects and activities at Wallops designed to provide SU students and professors with experiential, hands-on activities. 

“Our success at NASA, now and in the future, depends on a dynamic network of partnerships focused on our mission operations and growing the next generation of innovators,” said Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, center director at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “NASA’s partnership with Salisbury University expands our workforce development ecosystem and provides students with real-world experience in critical aerospace career fields.” NASA Goddard manages Wallops Flight Facility for the agency.

The agreement also lays a framework for expanding internship opportunities at Wallops, mentoring, technical expertise to faculty, and support for job fairs and other career development programs aimed to expand awareness of careers in the aerospace industry. 

“NASA Wallops has long been at the forefront of space exploration, pioneering breakthroughs that have expanded our understanding of the universe and inspired generations of scientists, engineers, and dreamers,” said Dr. Carolyn Ringer Lepre, SU president. “Together, we will leverage our collective expertise, resources, and ingenuity to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing our world today.” 

Wallops’ conducts upwards of 50 operational science and technology missions worldwide annually launching on orbital and suborbital rockets, scientific balloons, and flying on airborne science platforms. In addition, NASA’s commercial partners like Rocket Lab are increasing launch operations on the facility.  

“Our operations are growing at Wallops underscoring the need for an innovative, skilled workforce to advance our science and technology missions,” said Lystrup. “This agreement is helping us fill a critical workforce need to propel us into the future.”  

For more information on programs at Wallops, visit: 

www.nasa.gov/wallops  

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Jamie Adkins

MEDIA ADVISORY: NASA Invites Media to Milestone RS-25 Engine Certification Test

NASA will host media to view a milestone RS-25 engine test at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Wednesday, April 3, to certify full production of new engines to help power the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

As NASA explores the universe for the benefit of all, NASA Stennis is testing engines and systems that will help launch the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft on future deep space missions. The April 3 test will mark completion of a 12-test series to certify production of RS-25 engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to help power missions beginning with Artemis V.

In addition to the engine hot fire on the Fred Haise Test Stand, media will have an opportunity to tour the Aerojet Rocketdyne Engine Assembly Facility onsite, to receive a briefing at the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) about upcoming exploration upper stage testing, and to interview NASA officials and others.

The RS-25 hot fire viewing is targeted for early- to mid-afternoon.

Following the hot fire, media also will have a chance to gather onsite to view and participate in the NASA news conference announcing the company, or companies, selected to move forward in development of the lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) that will help Artemis astronauts explore more of the Moon’s surface on future missions. The news conference will be broadcast at 3 p.m. CDT from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Media members interested in attending should:

• Be a U.S. citizen.
• Contact Lacy Thompson at calvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov no later than 12 p.m. on Monday, April 1.
• Provide name as it appears on driver’s license.
• Identify state issuing the license.
• Provide a mobile contact number.

Please note NASA’s media accreditation policy online.

Media members must arrive from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 3, at INFINITY Science Center, the official visitors center for NASA Stennis, and produce valid driver’s license for transport on site. INFINITY is located at 1 Discovery Circle in Pearlington, Mississippi. Long pants and closed-toe shoes are required attire.

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LaToya Dean

Mariner 7 Goes to Mars

55 years ago, on March 27, 1969, an Atlas-Centaur rocket launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending Mariner 7 on its way to study Mars. Mariner 7 was the second Mars probe; Mariner 6 launched Feb. 24, 1969, to investigate Mars’ equator. Mariner 7 made a close flyby of Mars just five days after Mariner 6. Scientists were able to instruct it to take additional pictures of the south pole, which had piqued their interest during Mariner 6’s flyby.

The Mariner program launched 10 missions to explore Mercury, Venus, and Mars through flybys or orbits. These missions proved that interplanetary exploration was workable with small, low-cost spacecraft, laying the groundwork for all the deep space exploration missions that followed.

Image Credit: NASA

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Monika Luabeya

NASA, Partners Select Universities for CubeSat Summer Program

Eight university teams have been selected to work with NASA and the U.S. military to improve their small satellite proposals, ultimately increasing the possibility of flying their technology in space, and potentially launching their own careers in the space industry.

NASA’s CSLI (CubeSat Launch Initiative) is partnering with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force for the 2024 Mission Concept Program. Running from May through August, the program will provide students with systems engineering training for spacecraft development. The partnership aims to prepare students to work in the space industry while simultaneously enhancing small satellite expertise among faculty at U.S. universities.

A total of 34 universities applied for the 2024 session. A mix of NASA, Air Force, and contractor personnel reviewed the proposals, selecting universities based on the educational impact, university program impact and development, minority outreach and support, and relevance to NASA or the Department of Defense. Three of this year’s awardees – University of Central Florida, Florida Atlantic University, and Tarleton State University – are Minority Serving Institutions. This year’s selections are:

• University of Central Florida, Orlando
• University of Mississippi, Oxford
• Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
• University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
• Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana
• Northeastern University, Boston
• West Virginia University, Morgantown
• Tarleton State University, Stephenville, Texas

The teams will meet at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a four-day kickoff meeting in May, followed by seven weeks at the Air Force’s University Nanosatellite Program facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where three students will serve as interns with the Space Dynamics Laboratory.

During the program, the students will work with small satellite experts for continuous feedback and guidance to help improve university proposals and increase those teams’ potential of being selected to fly to space as part of NASA’s CSLI or the Air Force’s nanosatellite opportunities.

Final presentations will take place in Albuquerque and, although not required, participants are encouraged to attend the Small Satellite Conference in Logan, Utah, in August. Both programs will make final selections for future flights in 2025.

The 2024 Mission Concept Program provides funding for all travel, including kickoff, final event, and in-person reviews, allowing faculty and students to formulate teams without straining university resources.

NASA uses CSLI as one if its ways to attract retain students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. This strengthens NASA’s and the nation’s future workforce. The initiative promotes and develops innovative technology partnerships among NASA, U.S. industry, and other sectors for the benefit of all.

Visit NASA’s CSLI website for more information:

https://go.nasa.gov/3PEP2Q6

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Laura Aguiar