NASA awarded United Space Alliance the Integrated Mission Operations Contract (IMOC) today, signaling a continuing partnership between the agency and the space operations company.

The sole-sourced contract will support NASA Johnson Space Center with flight operations work for the Constellation and International Space Station programs. The contract is valued at $206.5 million for the base contract period, which could grow to a potential of $371 million if the option year and variable work content are fully exercised. The cost-plus-award fee contract has a basic period of performance of three years and includes a one-year option. The base contract from 2009-2011 will involve Constellation tasks for 2009-2010 with Space Station tasks joining in 2011. Once the contract is fully staffed, it could require a workforce of up to 700 employees.

"This contract represents the continuation of NASA's confidence in our capabilities and extends our partnership with the Johnson Space Center," said Scott Hartwig, IMOC Program Manager. "USA's unique skill set and experience will help NASA transition between programs and the work gives USA an excellent opportunity to be a part of future exploration missions."

The contract is designed to support Johnson Space Center's Mission Operations Directorate and Flight Crew Operations Directorate on flight operations tasks such as mission preparation, trajectory analysis, astronaut and flight controller training, development of flight procedures, and mission execution. The work is geared toward preparing for Constellation as well as transitioning the ISS to a post-assembly sustaining and operational basis.

"USA is uniquely positioned to leverage the experience and capabilities of our current contract resources to help meet the needs of NASA through IMOC," Hartwig said. "We will capitalize on our lessons learned in the Shuttle and Station programs and continue to share NASA's goal of safe operations in an environment of teamwork and cooperation."

Currently USA operates under the Space Program Operations Contract (SPOC) for Space Shuttle Program operations. The four-year SPOC contract ends Sept. 30, 2010, and includes support for mission design and planning; software development and integration; astronaut and flight controller training; system integration; flight operations; vehicle processing, launch and recovery; vehicle sustaining engineering; flight crew equipment processing; and Space Shuttle and International Space Station-related support to the Constellation Program.

United Space Alliance is a world leader in space operations with extensive experience in all aspects of the field. Headquartered in Houston, USA has 9,700 employees working in Texas, Florida and Alabama. Currently, USA is applying its broad range of capabilities to NASA's Space Shuttle, International Space Station and Constellation programs as well as to space operations customers in the commercial and international space industry sectors.