WASHINGTON – NASA has awarded a nearly $150 million contract to supply liquid helium and gaseous helium to facilities across the agency, including Marshall Space Flight Center.

The two-year IDIQ base contract valued at approximately $149 million was issued to three companies: Air Products and Chemicals of Allentown, Pa.; Messer LLC of Bridgewater, N.J.; and Linde of Danbury, Conn. The contract is through 2025 and calls for 1.4 million liters of liquid helium and 87.7 million standard cubic feet of gaseous helium to be delivered.

NASA requires helium to support the International Space Station, Space Launch System and Orion programs.

Helium is used for purging hydrogen systems, a pressurizing agent for ground and flight fluid systems, a cryogenic agent for cooling materials, and in precision welding applications.

In addition to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, the agency uses helium at Maryland’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Glenn Research Center and Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, Kennedy Space Center including Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, Johnson Space Center in Texas, Langley Research Center and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana, Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico.