United Space Alliance

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United Space Alliance
Type	Limited liability company
Founded	August 1995
Headquarters	HQ in Houston, Texas, locations in FL, AL, DC
Key people	Michael J. McCulley President and CEO Richard O. Covey Executive Vice President and COO
Industry	Aerospace
Products	Spaceflight operations
Revenue	$2.0 Billion (2005)
Employees	10,000
Parent	Joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin
Slogan	Innovative Solutions for Space Exploration
Website	UnitedSpaceAlliance.com

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, United Space Alliance (USA) is one of the world's leading space operations companies. Established in August 1995 as a Limited Liability Company (LLC). USA is equally owned by The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) and employs roughly 10,000 people in Texas, Florida, Alabama, and the Washington, D.C. area. The company is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Michael J. McCulley and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Richard O. Covey.

[edit] Current Business

USA's major business is operation and processing of NASA's Space Shuttle fleet and International Space Station at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center and John F. Kennedy Space Center. This work is currently defined by the Space Program Operations Contract (SPOC) between NASA and USA. The contract runs from October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2010, which is the end of Space Shuttle operations. The contract includes five one-year options that could extend the contract through Fiscal Year 2015. Efforts under the Space Program Operations Contract include work and support for mission design and planning; software development and integration; astronaut and flight controller training; system integration; flight operations; vehicle processing, launch and recovery; vehicle sustaining engineering; flight crew equipment processing; and Space Shuttle and International Space Station-related support to the Constellation Program. It is a cost reimbursement contract, with provisions for award and performance fees.

[edit] History

United Space Alliance was formed as a limited liability company as a joint venture between Rockwell International and Lockheed Martin in response to NASA's desire to consolidate many Space Shuttle program contracts to one prime contractor. USA and NASA signed the Space Flight Operations Contract in September 1996 to become the single prime contractor that NASA was seeking. USA supported the contract for 10 years through September 2006. This led to USA and NASA agreeing to the Space Program Operations Contract mentioned above.

[edit] External links

• United Space Alliance LLC.