Officials of Lockheed Martin announced today that the Consolidated Space Operations Contract (CSOC) has successfully completed its ISO 9001 periodical audit which took place January 8-18, 2001. The audit was conducted at three CSOC sites: Merritt Island Launch Area (MILA), Florida; Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, TX; and Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), Wallops Island, VA. All three sites passed with no findings generated. In addition, CSOC at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, AL, underwent a successful initial certification audit to be added to the CSOC ISO 9001 Registration.

"I am very pleased with our performance on these audits and would like to personally thank all of the individuals who worked so hard securing these results," said Doug Tighe, program manager for CSOC. "This is just another example of CSOC's commitment to superior performance in all aspects of our operations."

The ISO 9001 standard identifies an internationally recognized set of requirements for implementing its quality management system. ISO 9001 periodical audits ensure to customers that CSOC sites operate in accordance with ISO compliant procedures and that the CSOC Quality System continues to be effective. Audits of CSOC are completed every six months.

CSOC's next ISO 9001 periodical audit will be held in June, 2001 at: Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Lanham, MD; White Sands Complex (WSC), Las Cruces, NM; Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA; Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GSDCC), Fort Irwin, CA; and CSOC Headquarters, Houston, TX.

CSOC is a $3-billion-plus contract awarded by NASA to Lockheed Martin, who serves as the prime contractor to provide end-to-end space operations Mission and Data Services to both NASA and non-NASA customers. CSOC manages NASA's data collection, telemetry and communications operations that support Earth-orbiting satellites, planetary exploration, and human space flight activities. Services include data acquisition from spacecraft, data transmission to end-users, data processing and storage, ground and space communications, and mission control center operations.

CSOC is part of Lockheed Martin Space Operations (LMSO), a business unit of Lockheed Martin Technology Services headquartered in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. LMSO, a high-tech engineering and science services firm, employs about 4,000 engineers, scientists and support personnel. Services include managing CSOC; software and hardware engineering for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station; mission operations and planning systems design, development, and integration; and human life sciences research.

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin