A Gulfport company has won a five-year contract to build the A-3 test stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Hancock County.

NASA signed the contract Tuesday with Roy Anderson Corp. for construction of the A-3 test stand, which is being built at Stennis to test the J-2X engine for NASA’s Constellation Program. The contract’s value is not to exceed $45 million.

Construction began on the A-3 test stand in 2007.

Upon completion, the test stand will tower 300 feet above the ground. It is designed to handle thrust levels up to a million pounds. It will use a two-stage steam-ejector system to test engines at simulated environments in which they will fly.

Roy Anderson Corp. has been the contractor for several large projects in Mississippi.