Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne awarded $975 million NASA contract for space shuttle engine

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a United Technologies Corp. company, has signed a $975 million contract extension with NASA to continue maintaining the space shuttle main engines through 2010. The contract award comes on the heels of the $1.2 billion NASA contract awarded to Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne last month to design, develop and test the J-2X engine for the upper stages of the Ares I and V launch vehicles.

"This contract extension underscores the ongoing importance of the space shuttle main engine and what it means to the American space program," said Jim Maser, president, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. "The safety of our astronauts remains our number one priority. And with new technologies like the Advanced Health Management System scheduled for its first active flight on Endeavor next week, we will continue to deliver flawless performance to our customer."

This award extends a contract, which began on 1 January, 2002 and will now conclude 30 September, 2010. This extension brings the total value of the cost-plus-award / incentive fee contract to slightly more than $2 billion.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc., a part of Pratt & Whitney, offers a complete line of propulsion products from launch vehicles to missile defense to advanced hypersonic propulsion. These have been used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main and upper stage engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, and high altitude defense systems.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building industries.