Kirsten Larson
Headquarters, Washington                September 20, 2001
(Phone: 202/358-0243)

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

RELEASE: c01-t

NASA, USA SIGN $62 MILLION SPACE FLIGHT OPERATIONS 
CONTRACT MODIFICATION 

     NASA and the United Space Alliance have signed a $62 
million modification to the Space Flight Operations Contract 
to provide refurbishment of hydraulic actuators on the space 
shuttle fleet during the next five years.

The work, which is planned during regularly scheduled future 
shuttle maintenance periods, will involve the complete 
refurbishment of the 11 hydraulic actuators on each space 
shuttle orbiter. The actuators move the vehicle's rudder, 
speed brake, elevons and main engines during flight. In 
addition to being fully rebuilt, the actuators will be 
modified with a new one-piece spool stop to correct a problem 
with the potential unseating of spool stops that was 
identified during previous shuttle maintenance work. 
Endeavour will be the first shuttle to have the refurbished 
actuators installed during its next maintenance period, 
planned to begin in 2003.

The work will be performed at locations including East 
Aurora, N.Y.; Palmdale and Huntington Beach, Calif.; and the 
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

                        -end-