HOUSTON, 13 Oct. 2008. Boeing officials submitted the company's final proposal revisions to its bid for the NASA Facilities Development and Operations Contract (FDOC) at Johnson Space Center.

NASA is scheduled to select a contractor early next month, with a contract start date of Jan. 1, 2009. The four-year, cost-plus contract will include two one-year options that could extend the agreement to 2014.

FDOC includes development, sustaining engineering, operations, and maintenance of the training, flight-planning, reconfiguration, and control-center facilities for human spaceflight programs. The contract also includes developing and maintaining software applications used in these facilities.

Boeing's proposal offers NASA an opportunity to achieve its cost-reduction goals while ensuring safe and successful mission operations. The proposal revisions followed face-to-face meetings with NASA in September and include a model contract that can be used upon selection.

"Our one-team approach gives NASA the benefit of our experience in development and mission operations, combined with intimate knowledge of the International Space Station and space shuttle programs, to provide seamless support as NASA transitions to the Constellation program," says Brewster Shaw, vice president and general manager of Boeing's Space Exploration division.

"We are offering changes that will help NASA operations become even better than they are today," says Peggy Thomas, Boeing FDOC program manager. "These changes will allow NASA to have the mission control center of the future by taking advantage of our extensive experience in supporting control centers and training systems across the company for many government and commercial customers."

The FDOC contract is a critical element in making human spaceflight affordable as the United States prepares to return to the moon by 2020, Boeing officials say.

If selected by NASA, Boeing will host a series of meetings following the announcement to attract experienced employees to join the Boeing team. Qualified candidates should register at -- http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/fdoc/index.html.