NASA extends ISS cargo delivery contract

HOUSTON, July 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it's given Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems Inc. a contract extension for cargo delivery to the International Space Station.

The Houston company's $42 million contract extension is for integration services for cargo delivery to and from the ISS. Lockheed Martin has held the station's cargo mission contract since January 2004. The one-year extension brings the total value of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration contract to $338 million.

"The contract provides cargo packing for delivery to and from the space station, consisting of pressurized and unpressurized science and logistics carriers, assembly hardware and crew support," NASA said. "It also involves determining the most efficient way to pack the cargo, verifying the adequacy of the integrated carriers, packing the pressurized cargo into sub-carriers and returning the cargo to the providers once it returns to Earth."

The extension begins Oct. 1 and is the first of two such available options.

Major subcontractors include the United Space Alliance LLC and Bastion Technologies Inc., both in Houston; Command Technologies Inc. in Warrenton, Va.; Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. of Huntsville, Ala.; and EADS Astrium Space Transportation of Bremen, Germany.