NASA

General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies received a $40.7 million contract from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to build two additional 34-meter (112-foot wide) beam waveguide antennas as part of NASA's modernization and transformation plan to continue scientific studies of the Earth as well as explore distant bodies in the solar system. The new antennas will be located at the Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia. Originally designed by JPL and built by General Dynamics, the antennas enable the Deep Space Network to communicate with existing flight missions such as the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spitzer Space telescope, Saturn explorer Cassini, as well as support future NASA space missions. Beam waveguide-style antennas house sensitive electronics and systems in a room that is inside of the antenna's ground-based pedestal rather than in the center of the dish or reflector, making it easier for technicians to maintain the equipment as well as implement technology upgrades.

NASA, Washington, D.C., has appointed Michael J. Gazarik deputy chief technologist.

NASA has awarded a sole-source contract to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Systems Engineering for In-Space Servicing. This 18-month contract has a value of $31 million. Lockheed Martin will provide systems and discipline engineering support to develop and execute two demonstrations to test and verify new robotic servicing capabilities using the Dextre robot aboard the International Space Station. The Canadian Space Agency's Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or Dextre, is a two-armed robotic system designed to perform intricate maintenance and servicing tasks, which previously would have required spacewalks.

NASA recently awarded a 10-year, $2.5 billion contract to HP Enterprise Services of Herndon, Virginia, for Agency Consolidated End-user Services (ACES). The contract will be managed at the NASA Shared Services Center in Mississippi. The ACES contract will develop a long-term outsourcing arrangement with the commercial sector to provide and manage most of NASA's personal computing hardware, agency-standard software, mobile information technology (IT) services, peripherals and accessories, associated end-user services, and supporting infrastructure. HP Enterprise Services will provide, manage, secure and maintain these essential IT services for the agency.

NASA, Washington, D.C., has named Richard Keegan associate deputy administrator.

NASA, Washington, D.C., has named Waleed Abdalati chief scientist.

NASA selected DB Consulting Group Incorporated, Silver Spring, Maryland, to provide information technology, multimedia, information management and external relations support services at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The new Information Technology and Multimedia Services contract has a maximum value of $251 million. The company will provide services operation and maintenance of primary information technology services; graphics; library management; imagery acquisition, processing and cataloguing; television systems support for human spaceflight missions; public affairs services including creative content for NASA Television, live mission television, multimedia and the public Internet; and education program support.

NASA has awarded two sole-source contracts on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the common ground system and a scientific instrument on the first Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1). JPSS is the restructured civilian portion of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) that will make afternoon observations as it orbits Earth. The Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument contract is valued at approximately $314 million with a period of performance through September 2018. Under this contract, Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems will design, manufacture, test and deliver two VIIRS instruments. VIIRS will gather data on a wide range of Earth's properties, including the atmosphere, clouds, radiation budget, clear-air land and water surfaces, and sea surface temperature. Under the Common Ground System contract, valued at $1.4 billion, Raytheon will design, manufacture, test and deliver hardware, software, and related services for the mission operations of the JPSS ground system.

NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, recently awarded a $248 million sole-source contract for the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) spacecraft to Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation, Boulder, Colorado. Ball will design, build and test the spacecraft; integrate government-furnished instruments; integrate the satellite with the launch vehicle; and support launch operations and on-orbit checkout. The spacecraft is a clone of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environment Satellite System Preparatory Project. JPSS-1 is expected to be ready for launch in 2014. The system includes the satellites and sensors supporting civil weather and climate measurements and a shared ground infrastructure with the Department of Defense weather satellite system.

NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has awarded a $98 million contract to ITT Corporation of Fort Wayne, Indiana, for the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instrument planned for flight on the first Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) in 2014. JPSS is the restructured civilian portion of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System. This includes the satellites and sensors supporting civil weather and climate measurements and a shared ground infrastructure with the Department of Defense weather satellite system.