CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA awarded Boeing Space Operations Co. a space shuttle payload contract Thursday that could be worth $810 million over 10 years.

Under the deal, the Titusville subsidiary will keep payload work that has been done by The Boeing Co. since 1987, NASA officials said. Boeing was competing against Lockheed Martin.

The checkout, assembly and payload-processing services contract is for $332 million over the initial four-year term. Two options could extend the deal to 10 years, bringing the total value to $810 million.

The contract requires Boeing to provide management and technical support for payload processing for the space shuttle, International Space Station, expendable launch vehicles and other programs.

Boeing will handle every aspect of payload support, including planning, maintenance and installation.

The deal is structured so 75 percent of the fee is tied directly to contractor performance and meeting set goals, NASA said. The work will be done at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as well as Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and shuttle landing sites inside and outside the United States.