From AWAST, released today:
(EDIT: URLs only please. It's called copyright).
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I sense a lot of pressure building for this "first week in September" date. My understanding is that authority to proceed is September 8, meaning the contract announcement has to be made prior to that. I had originally understood that the announcement would be made mid- to late-August.
-- Steve
The delay of the SRR probably had something to do with that.
I've been watching this hard, as I'm trying to land a spot in Denver if they win.
Anyway, from what I've been able to piece together, the current contracts finish on August 31. Unless extended of course. I recall that there are either one or two month extensions available to NASA should they choose. And they may have multiple one/two month extensions as well. Guess if they can't decide, they can drag it out.
Both teams have positions open that say that they're contingent on the CEV win. Some of Lockheed's state that is "expected August 2006", but recently they've been posted as "expected September 2006". BA & NG don't seem to even bother adding in that much information, as they don't state in the job opening when award is.
Short of it, I figure the actual decision and contractor notifications will happen in the next week, maybe two, thus giving the losing bidder time to wrap up all contractural obligations before the contract ends. From contracts I've been on, they usually have a wind-down period where all the data is collected and archived. This doesn't mean that NASA would actually announce who won. I'm guessing/hoping that the timing will be such that the winner won't have a gap in funding.
All the cynics can stop laughing now. I'm sure that preventing a funding gap is hardly an issue for the accountants at NASA.
More:
John Karas, the LM VP of Space Exploration, says the CEV announcement will be August 31.
No other details.