Nasa has awarded two contracts to US-based companies General Atomics and Precision Mechanical in a deal worth $98.8m.

Precision Mechanical has secured a firm fixed-price contract, with a total potential value of $60.3m, for the production, fabrication and installation of upgrades to the Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) System at Launch Complex 39B at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The modification and modernisation of the LH2 system includes the installation of a new LH2 storage sphere with a minimum capacity of 1.25 million gallons.

The project scope includes the integration of associated vaporisers, a flare stack and propane system, fill manifold, piping, valves, and controls.

Launch Complex 39B, a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, is currently undergoing a complete refurbishment.

“Once completed, the facility will help support Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft for their first integrated uncrewed flight test.”

Once completed, the facility will help support Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft for their first integrated uncrewed flight test.

The other contract, with General Atomics based in San Diego, California, will include the delivery of necessary services to host the space agency’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) instrument on a commercial satellite in low-Earth orbit.

Valued at approximately $38.5m, work on the firm-fixed price contract is slated to continue until 30 August 2027.

The contract includes integration planning; contractor ground system design, integration, testing, and readiness; MAIA instrument-spacecraft integration, test, and pre-launch processing; spacecraft and launch vehicle; launch and MAIA in-orbit checkout; and on-orbit spacecraft operations to enable instrument operations.

Located at Nasa’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, US, MAIA is an Earth Venture Instrument project within the space agency’s Earth System Science Pathfinder Program.