NASA Selects Vertex Aerospace to Maintain Astronaut Training Facility

Mississippi-based Vertex Aerospace has secured a multiyear contract to oversee operations at NASA’s Sonny Carter Training Facility, a critical component of astronaut training at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Vertex Aerospace will provide technical, managerial and administrative support to ensure the ongoing functionality and reliability of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory’s integrated hardware and software systems.

The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory Operations Contract II has a two-year base period with five option periods, bringing the contract’s maximum total value to $265.2 million, NASA said.

The Mississippi-based firm will take charge of managing the laboratory’s 6.2-million-gallon pool, which replicates the space’s weightless environment, serving as an essential training ground for astronauts for space missions. The facility is always open and functional to support critical operations.

The NASA contract comprises a cost-plus-award-fee portion for core work, with an option to transition between cost-plus-fixed-fee and back.

The contract work will begin on Oct. 1.