The National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded Boeing Co. a $799.5 million contract to produce the system that will provide guidance, navigation and control for its Ares rocket until it reaches orbit.

Boeing’s job is to select the electronic components that best meet NASA’s needs and install them on the inside of a large metal ring that connects that Ares I upper stage and the Orion Capsule.

"Finally, with the last piece of our team in place now, we can move on with development of this new system, the first step in Constellation's efforts to get Americans back to the moon by 2020," said Jeff Hanley, NASA's Constellation Program manager.

Boeing, which was selected over Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., plans to carry out development and production of the flight control system with about 100 people in Huntsville, Ala., home of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and 20 people at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility east of New Orleans. The navy will be launched from Kennedy Space Center.

"Their final proposals were very competitive and they point to the value of competition in awarding these contracts," said Doug Cooke, NASA deputy associate administrator for exploration systems.

Boeing’s vice president and general manager for space exploration, Brewster Shaw said the company was “honored to be a part of taking America back to the moon.”

The first delivery of the avionics unit is expected in 2012. NASA wants to use the rocket carry astronauts into orbit and then send people to the moon by 2020.

If NASA succeeds in getting astronauts back to the moon, that would mark the first lunar landing since Apollo 17 visited Earth’s nearest neighbor in December 1972.