U.S. General Services Administration
GSA awards $43.2M contract for new NASA Langley facility
New Flight Dynamics Research Facility part of revitalization program in Hampton, Virginia
PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. General Services Administration is pleased to announce the award of a $43.2 million design and construction contract for a new Flight Dynamics Research Facility (FDRF) at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The FDRF will consolidate and replace two aging wind tunnels with one new vertical wind tunnel, the most capable research tunnel of its kind in the world.
The contract was awarded to BL Harbert International, LLC, based in Birmingham, Alabama.
“GSA has a great partnership with NASA and this project is our latest collaboration to bring cutting edge facilities to Langley.” said Joanna Rosato, Acting Regional Administrator for GSA’s Mid-Atlantic Region. “The FDRF project is key to NASA's focus on its core mission in space and aeronautics.”
“The contract award for the Flight Dynamics Research Facility is a major milestone along a path that has been years in the making,” stated Allen Kilgore, head of NASA Langley Research Center’s Research Directorate. “This facility, which will be the first major wind tunnel built by NASA in over forty years, will provide staff with a state-of-the-art tool for conducting research and technology development that supports diverse NASA missions, including aeronautics research, space exploration, and science. FDRF will have significantly greater capability than the two existing tunnels that it is replacing, will greatly reduce deferred maintenance and operating costs, and will provide the Agency a highly adaptable research asset for decades into the future.”
The FDRF (rendering courtesy of Mason & Hanger) will become the fourth new building delivered by GSA in support of their 20 year revitalization plan at Langley Research Center. The overarching goal of the plan is to sustain or enhance the center’s core capabilities through replacing or rehabilitating existing buildings. The plan will reduce the center’s footprint and transform the remaining infrastructure to be energy efficient, sustainable and adaptable. These revitalization efforts will ensure Langley remains a critical research and development center for NASA and the nation well into the 21st century.
The project is estimated to be completed in December 2024.
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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government, managing a real estate portfolio of more than 370 million rentable square feet nationwide and overseeing approximately $68 billion in annual contracts. GSA’s mission is to deliver value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across government in support of the Biden-Harris administration’s four priorities of climate change; COVID response; economic recovery; and diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.
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