Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC            February 20, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

Betty Flowers
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA
(Phone:  757/824-1584)

RELEASE: C98-c

NASA SELECTS PHYSICAL SCIENCE LABORATORY 
FOR BALLOON PROGRAM SUPPORT CONTRACT

    The Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) at New Mexico State 
University, Las Cruces, NM, has been selected by NASA Goddard 
Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, 
VA, for negotiation of a performance-based, cost plus incentive 
and award fee contract for the operation and maintenance of 
scientific balloon facilities and engineering support for the 
NASA Balloon Program.

    The new follow-on contract is for services currently being 
provided by contractor support at the National Scientific 
Balloon Facility, Palestine, TX, and Fort Sumner, NM, and 
Wallops Flight Facility.  The total estimated cost for the 
five-year contract, as proposed by PSL, is $66.7 million.

    The contractor is to provide technical and operational 
services to meet the requirements of balloon flights in support 
of NASA's scientific programs and reimbursable projects, both 
foreign and domestic.  This includes operational flight support 
for launching, tracking and recovery of scientific balloons and 
their payloads.  

    The contractor also will operate and maintain scientific 
balloon launching facilities.  Additionally, the contractor 
will provide engineering services to maintain and enhance 
technical and operational capability and provide development 
and analysis support for advanced projects in the NASA Balloon 
Research and Development Program. 

                                 -end-