GSA #10061

January 20, 2004
Contact: Mary Alice Johnson (202) 501-1231
maryalice.johnson@gsa.gov

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U. S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently awarded a $93 million task order to Maximus, Inc, Reston, VA to assist NASA in developing a smart card for agency employees and contractors to access facilities and information systems.

NASA is spearheading this government pilot program, which has been in the planning stages for 2-years with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and a working group of the federal government Interagency Advisory Board.  GSA awarded the task order on January 8, 2004, through its Smart Access Common ID Contract managed by the Federal Technology Service’s Center for Smart Card Solutions.

The “One NASA” smart card will enhance physical security for NASA facilities by authenticating an individual’s identity and provide a higher level of identity assurance for the agency’s information technology systems.

“NASA plans to run a small field trial in May at its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL.  If that is successful, the trial will be expanded to 2,000 employees,” said NASA’s David Saleeba, Assistant Administrator for Security Management and Safeguards.  “If the field trials are successful, and we receive the approval of the Office of Management and Budget, we plan to deploy over 100,000 smart cards before the end of the 2005 fiscal year,” he said.

“GSA’s FTS is providing NASA with cradle-to-grave services on this task order including card management, enrollment, and logical and physical access capabilities,” said FTS Commissioner Sandra Bates. “We look forward to working with NASA on this smart card deployment.”

With the “One NASA” smart card, employees and contractors need only to swipe it across a reader to access a NASA center or facility.  Similarly, computer security will be increased by using the same card to access their personal computers.  Card-holders need only to insert their card into a desktop reader to access their computers.

GSA is a centralized federal procurement, property management, and policy agency created by Congress to improve government efficiency and help federal agencies better serve the public. It acquires, on behalf of federal agencies, office space, equipment, telecommunications, information technology, supplies and services. It also plays a key role in developing and implementing governmentwide policies. GSA, comprised of 13,000 associates, provides services and solutions for the office operations of over 1 million federal workers located in more than 8,000 government-owned and leased buildings in 2,000 U.S. communities.