Beth Dickey/Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/1272
beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov, melissa.mathews-1@nasa.gov
Sallie Keith
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
216-433-5795
sallie.keith@nasa.gov
CONTRACT RELEASE: C07-37
NASA SELECTS VIBRATION TEST CAPABILITY CONTRACTOR
WASHINGTON - NASA has selected Benham Constructors LLC of Oklahoma
City to receive a contract to design, build and commission a
vibration and acoustic test capability that will support development
of the Orion crew exploration vehicle. Orion will carry astronauts to
the International Space Station and back to the moon in the next
decade.
The capability will be developed in the Space Power Facility at Plum
Brook Station, Sandusky, Ohio, which is operated by NASA's Glenn
Research Center in Cleveland. This procurement specifically addresses
the vibration and acoustic capability that will supplement the test
capabilities currently existing at the Space Power Facility.
The contract is valued at $51.4 million. Benham Constructors LLC will
provide all labor and materials to construct the vibration and
acoustic test capability, which will include a mechanical vibration
facility, a reverberant acoustic test facility and a high-speed data
acquisition system.
NASA selected Benham Constructors LLC for the cost-plus-incentive fee
contract on a competitive basis. The design, build and commission
portion of the contract has an 18-month period of performance with an
additional six-month period of technical support.
The environmental tests will demonstrate the ability of Orion hardware
to meet specified performance requirements in simulated conditions,
such as those experienced during launch, in orbit and during
re-entry. Thermal, acoustic, mechanical vibration and electromagnetic
compatibility tests will be conducted during Orion qualification. The
launch abort system, crew module, service module and spacecraft
adapter will be tested.
The Space Power Facility contains the world's largest thermal vacuum
chamber, which measures 100 feet in diameter by 122 feet high. The
facility can simulate in-space conditions, such as low vacuum
environments and temperature extremes.
The new test capability at the Space Power Facility also will support
future NASA Constellation Program testing. The Constellation Program
is developing spacecraft and other systems to support NASA's
exploration missions to the moon, Mars and other destinations in the
solar system.
For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellationFor more information about Glenn's Space Power Facility, visit:
http://facilities.grc.nasa.gov/spf/
