Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC              October 24, 2000
(Phone:  202/358-1979)

Marny Skora
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
(Phone:  757/864-6124)

RELEASE: C00-o

NASA AWARDS SUPPORT SERVICES CONTRACT TO MARYLAND FIRM

     NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, has selected 
Swales and Associates, Inc., of Beltsville, MD, to provide 
research and development, as well as engineering, support 
services. The contract is valued at a maximum of $240 million 
over the next five years.

Specific work areas include support in full-spectrum 
aerodynamics, gas dynamics, fluid dynamics, aerothermodynamics, 
acoustics and aeroacoustics, metallic and non-metallic structures 
and materials, and space and airborne systems. Work is expected 
to begin January 2, 2001, and will be performed primarily on-site 
at Langley.

Established in 1917 as the first national civil aeronautics 
laboratory, Langley is a world-class center for aeronautics, 
earth science, space technology, and structures and materials 
research. Seventy percent of Langley's effort is in aeronautics 
research, working to improve today's aircraft and to develop 
concepts for future aircraft. The center supports the nation's 
space programs by conducting a dynamic program in atmospheric 
sciences, seeking a more detailed understanding of the Earth's 
atmosphere. Langley researchers are also developing technology 
for advanced space transportation systems and for small 
spacecraft and instruments.

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