THE LOCKHEED Martin/ Rockwell United Space Alliance has assumed responsibility for the Shuttle Processing Contract (SPC) and the Space Operations Contract (SOC), in the first step towards becoming NASA's prime contractor for launch processing and operations for the Space Shuttle fleet (Flight International, 28 February-5 March).
The SPC and SOC contracts will be incorporated into the new Space Flight Operations Contract in October. The STS77, the 11th flight of the Orbiter Endeavour is scheduled to be launched on 16 May, carrying the fourth Spacelab mid-deck augmentation module.
The nine-day mission, crewed by one Canadian and five US astronauts, commanded by John Casper, will also deploy a Spartan free-flier with an inflatable-antenna system. It will be followed by the STS78/Columbia mission in June, carrying the life and micro-gravity Spacelab payload.
Source: Flight International
