GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY TO TOUR NASA WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY

ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 20, 2010) – On Monday, Governor Martin O’Malley will tour the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, one of the oldest launch sites in the world. NASA and the other organizations at Wallops, including the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) employ approximately 1,800 civilian positions, including government and contractor jobs, 700 of which are held by Marylanders.

Governor O’Malley will take a tour of the facility, including the Range Control Center and the rocket launch facilities on Wallops Island. During the Island portion of the tour, he will see the construction of the new launch pad for MARS and the U.S. Navy Surface Combat Systems Center.

In June of this year, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center awarded the NASA Wallops Flight Facility Range Operations Contract to LJT & Associates, Inc., an engineering firm based in Columbia, Maryland. The contract runs for five years and is valued at approximately $117 Million. The company will provide support services to manage the Wallops Research Range operations and maintenance; training; command, control, and communications information; and computer systems services.