NASA Langley Research Center will build a Measurement Systems Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia. The project has a scheduled completion date of late 2019.

The Measurement Systems Laboratory will be a world-class facility for research and development of new measurement concepts, technologies, and systems that will enable NASA to achieve its mission in space exploration, science, and aeronautics.

According to NASA the contract, conferred on W.M. Jordan Co. of Newport News by the U.S. General Services Administration, is the largest awarded for NASA Langley in recent history. The 175,000-square-foot lab will be the biggest of the new facilities built so far as part of NASA Langley's 20-year revitalization plan. The plan calls for demolition of aging structures and construction of new, energy efficient facilities and the rehab of aging buildings.

"This is going to advance and ensure the capabilities the agency must have for mission success, as well as pave the way for Langley's future as we enter our 100th year," said Dave Bowles, Langley's Director. "It will also boost the regional economy by providing several hundred construction-related jobs for the next few years."

The lab will have about 40 modular research labs for research and development functions such as electronics, lasers, clean rooms, and instrumentation. The facility will allow the consolidation of many laboratories that currently are dispersed throughout the center.

NASA partnered with GSA on this project to take advantage of that agency's knowledge and expertise in designing and constructing federal buildings.