Summary: NASA has contracted with Grumman Corporation to provide engineering and other services for the Space Station Freedom. NASA and Grumman's working relationship has been turbulent over much of the contract period mainly because of: (1) NASA's belief that Grumman did not promptly change from a program support contractor to an engineering and integration contractor when asked to do so; and (2) Grumman's belief that NASA's failure to resolve issues stemming from organizational changes in the wake of the Challenger accident had hamstrung Grumman's ability to quickly assume the program integration role. NASA's concern with Grumman's program management became so acute that by early 1990 the Fee Determination Official significantly cut Grumman's award fee. Since then, NASA and Grumman have made progress in redefining Grumman's role as the engineering and integration contractor. Both parties now believe that they have a mutual understanding of their roles and that no barriers exist that might preclude full performance by the contractor.
