NASA extends KBR’s $250M Wallops range contract
An aerial view of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. NASA
By
Nick Wakeman
The agency says it would be too disruptive to compete a new contract right now as the facility takes on more launches including commercial and hypersonic vehicles.
NASA is extending a $250 million contract with KBR to support the Wallops Flight Facility Range in Virginia.
In a Sam.gov notice posted Thursday, the agency says it cannot compete the work right now without disrupting the services needed to manage the range.
KBR won the contract in 2019 and it was to expire in August. The extension will push the end date out to Feb. 9, 2026.
NASA can use the extra time to set up a recompete for a follow-on contract, but the Sam.gov notice has no information about any plan for that.
In addition to avoiding disruption, NASA says that it wants to ensure program continuity and maintain mission support for the facility's partners including the Goddard Space Flight Center.
The Wallops Flight Facility conducts rocket launches, manages a scientific balloon program and operates research aircraft. Wallops also manages an instrumented range that supports the tracking of launch vehicles and the collection of related data.
NASA expects its usage of the facility to grow with increases in commercial space flight, as well as development of hypersonic launch vehicles.
KBR supports range operations, telemetry, radars, and range control and mission operations services. The company also provides communication, videography and meteorological services.
According to GovTribe data, NASA has obligated $203 million in order volume to-date.