NASA Contract for TESS Space Mission Operations

Original title: National Aeronautics and Space Administration → NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION ($102.08M)

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

What This Bill Does

NASA has awarded a $102.08 million contract to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation to support the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission. The contract covers the design, development, testing, and operation of the spacecraft and its mission control center.

Why it matters

This contract allocates $102.08 million in federal funds to Northrop Grumman for the ongoing technical development and operational management of the TESS mission, which is used to identify exoplanets.

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

The company is contractually obligated to perform specific engineering, testing, and operational tasks for the TESS mission.

Directly affected

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The agency is providing $102.08 million in funding and oversight for the TESS mission development.

Key Facts

NASA awarded a $102.08 million contract to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation.
The contract covers work for Phases B through F of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission.
Northrop Grumman is responsible for the design, analysis, validation, development, fabrication, assembly, integration, and testing of the TESS spacecraft.
The contractor must develop, test, operate, and sustain the Mission Operations Center (MOC).

Show all 8 facts

Northrop Grumman is responsible for the spacecraft and camera accommodation structure, including the sunshade.
The TESS instrument (camera structure, data handling unit, and harness) is provided by the government as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE).
The contractor is responsible for integration activities between the government-provided instrument and the spacecraft.
The contractor must provide all necessary personnel, materials, facilities, and resources to complete the mission tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of this contract?

The contract funds the development, testing, and operation of the TESS spacecraft and its mission control center for NASA.

Who is responsible for building the TESS camera?

The TESS instrument, including the camera structure, is provided by the government as Government Furnished Equipment, though the contractor is responsible for integrating it into the spacecraft.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Follow the record

Votes, people, money & the original source

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Government-Contractor Division of Labor

The contract explicitly separates the development of the spacecraft (contractor responsibility) from the development of the scientific instrument (government responsibility), highlighting a specific procurement strategy for complex space hardware.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation