NASA has awarded a follow-on contract to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation of Greenbelt, Maryland, for support of the agency's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, located in Palestine, Texas.

The NASA Balloon Operations Contract II provides cost-plus-fixed-fee core requirements and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee task orders, along with additional option periods. With all options exercised, the total potential contract value is $339.1 million. The basic period of performance is from June 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023. Three Option periods would extend the contract through May 31, 2029.

Under NOBC II, Northrop Grumman Systems will operate facilities to maintain the CSBF and provide engineering services to support the NASA Balloon Program. The Texas balloon facility is government-owned with a permanent balloon staging facility at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The contractor also will provide operational balloon flight support, including launching, tracking, and recovery of scientific balloons and payloads, as well as engineering services for operational support, quality control, and balloon research and development.

The work will be performed at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, located on Wallops Island, Virginia; the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility; and at various balloon launch site as well as at the contractor's facility.

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NASA Scientific Balloons
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