July 27, 2007 Beth Dickey/Melissa Mathews Headquarters, Washington 202-358-2087/1272 bdickey@xxxxxxxx, melissa.mathews-1@xxxxxxxx Tracy Young Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-867-2468 tracy.g.young@xxxxxxxx CONTRACT RELEASE: C07-033 NASA SELECTS LIGHTNING PROTECTION SYSTEM CONTRACTOR CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA has selected Ivey's Construction Inc. of Merritt Island, Fla., to build a new lightning protection system for Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. The system will support launches of the Constellation Program's Ares I rockets. The lightning protection system is designed to reduce the probability of a direct lightning strike to the Ares I and associated launch equipment during processing and other activities prior to flight. Under the contract, the company will provide all labor and materials to fabricate and construct three 600-foot, self-supporting structural steel towers and an overhead wire system with associated conductors. Ivey's Construction Inc. will receive a fixed-price contract for $27,915,000. The system is expected to be complete by March 2010. For more on NASA's Constellation Program, including an image and animation of the lightning protection system, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/constellation -end- To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx