Don Savage
Headquarters, Washington, DC                   December 1, 1998
(Phone:  202/358-1727)

Keith Koehler
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA
(Phone:  757/824-1579)

RELEASE:  C98-t

NASA SELECTS LITTON/PRC FOR NASA SOUNDING ROCKET PROGRAM 

       NASA has selected Litton/PRC of McLean, VA, to perform 
services for a new contract which consolidates several previous 
service and supply contracts and other work supporting NASA's 
Sounding Rocket Program.  The contract begins Feb. 1, 1999.

       Services include designing, fabricating, integrating, 
testing and performing mission operations for sounding rocket 
missions. 

       "We are confident that the Litton/PRC team will continue 
the tradition of successful sounding rocket launches from sites 
worldwide in support of space and Earth science communities," said 
Mary Kicza, Associate Director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight 
Center, Greenbelt, MD. 

       The work will be performed at Goddard's Wallops Flight 
Facility, Wallops Island, VA, and at various off-site locations 
worldwide in support of Wallops projects.  The services will be 
provided under a performance-based, cost-plus award and incentive 
fee, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract.  

       The basic contract is for four years with two, three-year 
options.  The contract's minimum IDIQ value for the four-year 
basic contract is $11.9 million, and the potential maximum IDIQ 
value for the basic contract period is $211.8 million.  The 
minimum value for the basic and two, three-year option periods is 
$31.9 million and the potential maximum value for the basic and 
two, three year option periods is $572.5 million. 

       The contractor also will provide performance task-order 
services for various Center programs using NASA Sounding Rocket 
Operations Contract government-furnished property, such as the 
fabrication and environmental test facilities at NASA's Wallops 
Flight Facility.

       The NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract is an integral 
part of the "Wallops 2000" strategic plan, initiated in 1997, 
which provides a vision for Wallops to ensure its stability and 
vitality in the future.  The majority of NASA civil service 
engineers and technicians working on the sounding rocket program 
will transition to advanced research and development projects 
including Space Shuttle small payloads, the ultra-long duration 
balloon program, and the University-class Explorer satellite 
program, as well as management of the new contract.  Wallops will 
continue to manage the sounding rocket program for the Office of 
Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.

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