Nasa selects contractor for deep space launch structure

Posted on 17 Aug 2015 by Aiden Burgess

Nasa has chosen Florida-based J.P. Donovan Construction to begin work on the ground structures that will launch the next generation Nasa rockets and spacecrafts on their journey to Mars and other deep space destinations.

The construction company will begin work at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as part of the contract for the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Mobile Launcher Ground Support Equipment Installation.

The contract is a fixed-price one that extends for 455 days and has a maximum value of $45.8m.

J.P. Donovan Construction will install and integrate ground support equipment onto the existing Mobile Launcher to modify the structure with systems necessary to assemble, process and launch Nasa’s integrated Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.

The GDSO’s primary objective is to prepare the Kennedy Space Center to process and launch the next-generation deep space vehicles and spacecraft designed to achieve Nasa’s goals for space exploration.

The awarding of the contract to J.P. Donovan Construction is part of the development Nasa deems necessary for it to achieve its goals for deep space exploration a reality.

Significant subcontractors for the ground structure installation include Florida companies Core Electric and MDI Services LLC, and California based company Bragg Crane & Rigging.

NASA’s countdown to deep space continued Aug. 13 with the latest test of its Space Launch System (SLS) RS-25 rocket engine at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Operators on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis conducted a 535-second test to collect engine performance data that will be used in readying the engines for SLS missions to carry humans deeper into space than ever before.