AEROJET GENCORP AWARDED CONTRACT TO BUILD PROPULSION STAGE FOR X-38



August 18, 1998



Jennifer McCarter
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1639)



James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

<h4>Release: c98-1</h4> <h3>Aerojet Gencorp Awarded Contract to Build 
Propulsion Stage For X-38</h3> 

Aerojet GenCorp, Sacramento, CA, has been awarded a contract with a 
value of $16.4 million to provide a deorbit propulsion stage for a 
technology demonstrator vehicle that is currently undergoing flight 
tests at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA.



The vehicle, named X-38, is an innovative, prototype spacecraft that 
could lead to the design, development and construction of a planned 
emergency Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) for the International Space 
Station.



The fixed-price incentive contract is for the design, development, 
manufacture, test and delivery of a deorbit propulsion stage required 
for the first X-38 space flight test scheduled for late 2000 or early 
2001. This test will involve an unpiloted space test vehicle now 
under construction at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, that 
will be released from a Space Shuttle and descend to a controlled 
landing. The vehicle's propulsion stage includes a rocket propulsion 
system that will be fired to begin the vehicle's descent from orbit 
and then will be jettisoned to burn up in the atmosphere.



The base contract, valued at $16.4 million, is for one propulsion 
stage for the X-38 space flight test with an option for a second 
unit. There is a second option in the contract for five operational 
flight units for the Crew Return Vehicle, if the program is approved 
and if the X-38 design is selected. If all options are exercised, the 
contract has a potential value of $71.9 million and will require the 
delivery of hardware through the year 2005. This contract will be 
managed and administered by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, 
Huntsville, AL.

	
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