NASA awards $2 billion in contracts

National Aeronautic and Space Administration

NASA awarded three information technology contracts Oct. 9, including two of the five work packages contained in the Space Mission Communications and Data Services solicitation, at an estimated total maximum value of nearly $2 billion.

Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc. won the Mission Operations and Mission Services (MOMS) and the Near Earth Networks Services (NENS) contracts. In the third deal, NASA's Ames Research Center awarded a contract to QSS Group Inc. to provide centerwide IT services, including computer and communications security.

Honeywell's MOMS contract is the richest of the three, with a maximum estimated value of $900 million. The contract contains a five-year base period and two one-year options.

Under the agreement, Honeywell will support the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for all flight mission phases. Services under the contract include flight operations, mission services integration, mission communications and flight-dynamics technology.

The five-year NENS contract is a two-part deal with a total estimated value of $785.2 million. The core component is worth approximately $185.2 million and the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity component has a limit of $600 million. Honeywell will support NASA's Space and Ground Networks managed by the Mission Services Program at Goddard. The vendor will provide technical and management services for tracking and data acquisition operations at seven facilities.

NASA's deal with QSS is valued at $281.5 million, and contains an initial one-year period of performance with four one-year options. The Applied IT Division at Ames will manage the contract.

QSS will provide information services, including computing and communication security and system software maintenance. The vendor will also maintain Ames' IT software applications, along with data storage and network communications.

The company also will disperse IT to customers through Ames' Web sites and data systems.