Caltech awarded 5-year, $15B NASA contract to continue management of Jet Propulsion Laboratory
It’s all systems go for La Cañada’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, after Caltech was awarded a $15-billion contract from NASA to extend operations for another five years, with options for five one-year extensions, officials announced Friday.
The contract extends the agreement between NASA and Caltech, which manages the 177-acre campus located in the northernmost part of the Arroyo Seco watershed, beyond its current expiration date of Sept. 30, 2018, according to a news release issued by JPL’s communications team.
The new contract is set to begin on Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, 2023, with a potential extension through 2028 — for a total value of $30 billion. The purpose of the contract is to “develop and sustain core competencies in support of NASA-sponsored work in the areas of Earth and planetary sciences, heliophysics, astrophysics as well as aeronautics and space activities, including the development of spacecraft and instruments,” officials said in the release.
Caltech will continue to manage NASA-sponsored programs that carry out peer-reviewed research, NASA partnerships with other government agencies, academia and the private sector and will also oversee the operation, research and management of NASA’s Deep Space Network.
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