NASA Awards Rotorcraft Technology Development Contract

Feb. 25, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected three companies to receive a subsonic rotary wing technology development contract valued at $40 million. The companies sharing the award are Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. of Hurst, Texas; The Boeing Company of Chicago; and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. of Stratford, Conn.

This is a cost plus fixed fee, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract with a five-year period of performance beginning Feb. 25, 2009.

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The work will be performed for NASA's Subsonic Rotary Wing Project, which the Fundamental Aeronautics Program of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington funds and manages.

Under the terms of the contract, the three companies will compete on task orders to provide research and development support. The support areas include advanced rotorcraft technologies, rotorcraft requirements in the Next Generation Air Traffic Management System, prognostics and health management, advanced rotorcraft configurations, research flight testing, wind tunnel test stands, hardware gear testing components, rotorcraft drive system sensitivity studies, avionic processor equipment and Global Positioning System upgrades, engineering analyses of advanced concepts, subject matter expert review, and advanced cockpit and crew station research.

The work will be performed at Bell's facility in Hurst, Boeing's facility in Mesa, Ariz., and Sikorsky's facility in Stratford.

For more information about NASA's aeronautics research programs, visit:

http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov

Source: NASA