Bruce Buckingham
Kennedy
Space Center, Fla.
321-861-7642
Katherine
Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-3749
|
June 2, 2006 |
CONTRACT
RELEASE: C06-033
| NASA Announces Mars Science Lab Mission Launch
Contract
NASA's
Kennedy Space Center in Florida has selected Lockheed Martin
Commercial Launch Services Inc. to deliver an Atlas V rocket
for the Mars Science Laboratory mission to carry a large rover
to the red planet in the fall of 2009. The six-wheeled rover
will explore Mars for two years, examining sites to identify
where the building blocks for life may exist.
The
total Mars Science Laboratory launch service price is $194.7
million. That cost includes NASA launch services and mission
integration requirements. This is a firm-fixed price contract.
The launch services for Mars Science Laboratory are being
acquired under the existing NASA Launch Services multiple
award procedures.
Principal work for the Atlas V
Centaur propellant tank will be performed at Lockheed Martin's
San Diego facility, while the primary work location for the
Atlas V booster propellant tank's production will be done at
Lockheed's facility in Waterton, Colo.
The Mars Science
Laboratory will launch from Complex 41 on the Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station, Fla. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the
California Institute of Technology. JPL is responsible for
spacecraft design and integration; integration of science
instruments; spacecraft system testing; launch operations
support and support of mission operations. For more
information about the Mars Science Laboratory mission, visit:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/future/msl.html
For
information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html
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