NASA has selected Teledyne Brown Engineering of Huntsville, Ala., to design and build a key component of the new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket the agency is developing to send humans farther than ever into deep space.

The component is the Launch Vehicle/Stage Adapter (LVSA), which will be used to connect the rocket's 27.5-foot diameter core and 16.4-foot diameter interim cryogenic propulsion stages.

Under a $60 million contract action, Teledyne Brown will design, develop, test, evaluate and certify the LVSA assembly and manufacture the structural test article and two flight units.

This work will be delivered under a cost reimbursement, fixed-fee engineering solutions and prototyping contract. The award has a potential performance period of five years and includes an option for a third flight unit.

In addition to launching NASA's new Orion spacecraft on crewed missions to deep space, SLS also may launch robotic spacecraft on deep space scientific missions. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the SLS Program for the agency.