The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Haystack Observatory has received a potential five-year, $14.8 million follow-on contract to help NASA update and maintain very-long-baseline interferometry systems. The MIT Haystack Observatory team will field personnel, equipment, materials and facilities to support NASA's VLBI stations and data processing activities, the agency said Wednesday.
The research center will also support the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry as well as associated services for the Space Geodesy Project. The cost-no-fee contract has a base value of one year and could extend to four more years if all options are exercised.
The Space Geodesy Project is a collaborative effort between NASA, MIT Haystack Observatory and other partners that seeks to build and deploy geodetic stations.