-- Program to be Based at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Where Company Expects to Employ Approximately 150 Employees and Contractors --
Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE:ORB), one of the world's leading
space technology companies, today announced that it was selected by the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the prime
contractor role on the NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract II
(NSROC II) program. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity NSROC II
contract carries a maximum total value of $310 million over its
five-year term, with a current expected value of at least $125 million.
Under the NSROC II program, which is primarily centered at NASA's
Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, Orbital's Technical Services
Division (TSD) will be responsible for planning, coordinating and
carrying out sounding rocket missions from locations in the U.S. and
around the world. In addition, Orbital TSD will work with NASA to
develop and implement advanced sounding rocket capabilities to be used
on the program. Sounding rockets are smaller-sized launch vehicles that
conduct suborbital missions for high-altitude scientific and atmospheric
research.
"Orbital's Technical Services Division is honored to have been awarded
the NSROC II contract," said Mr. John Pullen, Orbital's Vice President
and head of TSD. "Orbital has a long history of supporting NASA's
sounding rocket program, which provides space scientists and weather
researchers with valuable data for their investigations. Orbital was a
major contributor to the NSROC I team from 1999 to 2009 and we look
forward to our new role in leading the effort for NASA."
In addition to the NSROC II contract, which the company will begin to
execute over the next several months, Orbital has a major launch site
development project underway with NASA and the Mid-Atlantic Regional
Spaceport to prepare the Wallops Flight Facility to accommodate final
assembly and launch operations for the company's new Taurus(R)
II medium-class space launch vehicle and Cygnus(TM) cargo logistics
spacecraft for missions to the International Space Station. Initial
Taurus II launches from Wallops are scheduled to begin in 2011.
Once the NSROC II program is fully staffed, together with the company's
employees working on launch site development and Taurus II assembly and
check-out, Orbital will employ over 250 people and contractors at
Wallops on a day-to-day basis.
About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class rockets and
space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers.
The company's primary products are satellites and launch vehicles,
including low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary
exploration spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific
and defense missions; human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar
and other missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver
satellites into orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as
interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also provides satellite
subsystems and space-related technical services to U.S. Government
agencies and laboratories.
More information about Orbital can be found at http://www.orbital.com
SOURCE: Orbital Sciences Corporation
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Orbital Sciences Corporation
Barron Beneski, 703-406-5528
Public and Investor Relations
beneski.barron@orbital.com
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