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LIVONIA — Last summer, NASA renewed a five-year, $75 million contract with Acro Service Corp. to supply scientists, engineers and technicians to do everything from designing communications systems to monitoring flight systems. Acro Service Corp. was integral to the recent Mars Exploration Rover project.
Ron Shahani, president and CEO of the company, told The Detroit News: “While the Mars probe is en route to the planet, our people will be able to make adjustments and develop new software routines to ensure the project goes smoothly. [NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory] has many different missions and is targeting different planets, and we plan to work on those projects in the future.”
The News also reported that the outsourcing has been successful, quoting Thomas May, manager of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as saying, “[Acro’s] design and information technology skills are instrumental to our success and our goals in the continuing missions we’re exploring.”
Currently, the probes “Spirit” and “Opportunity,” which have been on Mars since January 2004, continue to document the geology, topography and composition of Mars’ surface as part of the Mars Exploration Rover project.
Acro Service Corp. employs 100 people at its headquarters in Livonia and another 800 in various locations around the world. In 2002, the company generated revenues of $90 million.
