Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc. [HON] filed a protest last week with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), objecting to NASA awarding a $1.26 billion contract to ITT Corp. [ITT].

NASA selected ITT to perform telemetry, tracking and command services for near-Earth missions under a Space Communications Network Services contract. (Please see Space & Missile Defense Report, Monday, Oct. 13, 2008.)

If GAO upholds NASA in its contract award, ITT Advanced Engineering and Sciences of Herndon, Va., would support NASA Space and Near Earth Networks.

They provide most of the communications for a wide range of NASA science-based Earth-orbiting spacecraft, including the International Space Station, the space shuttle, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Earth Observing System satellites.

This cost-plus-award-fee core and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract has a base period of five years and three months, including the phase-in period. The contract also includes two one-year options.