AEROSPACE

NASA Agrees to Turn Over Shuttle Management: The space agency said it signed a $7-billion deal to place the day-to-day running of the shuttle program in private hands. The United Space Alliance, a Houston-based joint venture of Rockwell International Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp., signed the contract with NASA on Thursday. Under the initial six-year agreement, the alliance will become the single prime contractor for shuttle operations, with responsibility for preparing the fleet of four spaceships for launch, training astronauts and operating mission control. NASA will retain overall control of the shuttle program and will adopt a safety oversight role.