GD awarded $642.2 million contract for space communications by NASA

General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, has been awarded a seven-year contract by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center for the Space Network Ground Segment Sustainment (SGSS) project. The company will modernize the ground system and network for NASA's Tracking Data and Relay Satellite (TDRS) constellation. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract has a total potential value of approximately $642.2 million, including options. The period of performance is from June 21, 2010, through June 20, 2017. As prime system integrator for the project, General Dynamics will implement a new ground-system architecture that ensures the space network will continue to provide global space-to-ground telecommunications and tracking coverage for low-Earth orbit and near-Earth space flight missions. Particular focus will be given to project integration, testing and operational transition so the new system is implemented without interruption to ongoing operations of the space network, which supports all NASA scientific and human space flight missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. Commenting on General Dynamics' 30-year commitment to supporting U.S. space programs, including ongoing involvement with the constellation and ground system, John Weidman, vice president of National Systems for General Dynamics C4 Systems, said, "As we modernize this critical national asset, the focus of our team's efforts is ensuring the NASA Space Network continues the highly-reliable service it has delivered for nearly three decades." Operating out of the White Sands Complex in New Mexico and the TDRSS Terminal in Guam, the new flexible, extensible and scalable system will also expand the capabilities needed for future space missions by accommodating larger quantities of data with expanded coverage at greater distances. General Dynamics will staff the SGSS project from its headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz., and at its SpacePlex facility at New Mexico State University's Arrowhead Research Park in Las Cruces, N.M. General Dynamics is collaborating on the contract with a team of small and large businesses which has rich NASA experience, including Harris Corporation of Melbourne, Fla.; GMV Space Systems of Rockville, Md.; Rincon Research Corporation of Tucson, Ariz.; a.i. Solutions of Lanham, Md.; RT Logic of Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Qwaltec of Tempe, Ariz.