NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will exercise a $27.5 million option to continue its Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Program contract with Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International, Inc., Windsor Locks, Conn.

The original contract awarded through the competitive procurement process in 1997 is worth $300 million over seven years and included a four-year base effort with annual renewal options for an additional three years through September 2004. This action is part of the annual renewal option.

The contract work will be performed at Johnson and at Hamilton Sundstrand's Windsor Locks facility. It includes responsibility for the successful performance of the Extravehicular Mobility Units used for spacewalks outside the Space Shuttle and International Space Station.

The contract includes program and business management; engineering; design, development, certification, production and enhancement of the suits and other spacewalk-related hardware. Also included in the contract are the assured EMU availability program; field activities; safety; mission assurance; reliability and quality assurance programs.

Hamilton Sundstrand also supports the Space Shuttle and ISS Programs involving payloads and International Partners.