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Washington DC (SPX) Aug 03, 2007 NASA has signed a $975 million contract extension with Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne to maintain the agency's fleet of space shuttle main engines until the orbiter is retired in 2010. The contract began on April 1, 2006. It is scheduled to conclude Sept. 30, 2010. The $975 million contract extension brings the total value of the cost-plus-award/incentive fee contract to slightly more than $2.05 billion. Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne supports the Shuttle Propulsion Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.; the Space Shuttle Program Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston; and the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The contract includes maintenance and refurbishment of existing shuttle main engines at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Each space shuttle is powered by three of the sophisticated engines, the world's only reusable rocket engines. During launch, each of the 7,750-pound engines burns liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, fed from the shuttle's external tank. Each engine generates approximately 400,000 pounds of thrust, which works with the shuttle's twin solid rocket boosters to power the spacecraft to orbit. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links NASA Space Shuttle Program Shuttle at NASA Watch NASA TV via Space.TV Space Shuttle News at Space-Travel.Com
Cape Canaveral (KSC) Aug 02, 2007At Launch Pad 39A, preparations continue for the launch of Endeavour on STS-118, currently targeted for launch at 7:02 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Aug. 7. Engineers are working to resolve an abnormal leak rate in Endeavour's crew cabin. The problem was traced to one of two positive pressure-relief valves which ensure that the crew cabin does not become over-pressurized. Workers plan to remove and replace the suspect valve using a valve from Atlantis. |
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