October Messenger available

The October issue of Michoud Messenger, a monthly newsletter about activities at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, is available for download. The feature story is about the 300-ton Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer’s arrival at Michoud. The device will be studied to determine why it failed. Other items in the newsletter include the rollout of ET-122 and an employee spotlight feature. (Source: Michoud Messenger, October 2010)

NASA picks NRL imager

WASHINGTON - NASA has chosen the Naval Research Laboratory's Wide-field Imager to be part of the Solar Probe Plus mission set for launch no later than 2018. The Solar Probe Plus, a car-sized spacecraft, will plunge directly into the sun's atmosphere about four million miles from our star's surface. It will explore a region no other spacecraft ever has encountered in an effort to unlock the sun's biggest mysteries. (Source: NRL, 09/27/10) In addition to NASA activities, John C. Stennis Space Center is home to a detachment of the Naval Research Lab.

Mabus: Penalty money should go to states

A large amount of the penalty money energy giant BP is expected to pay for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill should go to Gulf Coast states harmed by the disaster. That's according to a report released Tuesday. Former Mississippi governor Ray Mabus, the Secretary of the Navy who was assigned to devise a recovery plan to respond to the spill, rolled out the plan in New Orleans and Gulfport. (Sources: Multiple, including USA Today, Sun Herald, Mississippi Press, 09/29/10) Organizations at Stennis Space Center, Miss., have been heavily involved in spill-related work.

CSC gets contract modification

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA has awarded Computer Sciences Corp. of Falls Church, Va., a modification to exercise the first option year under its existing contract for the NASA Shared Service Center. This is a one-year option period for the continuation of financial management, human resources, procurement and information technology support services to NASA. The one-year option increases the existing NASA Shared Services Center support contract by more than $38 million and provides services through Sept. 30, 2011. The center is a partnership among NASA, CSC, and the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. The center performs selected business activities for all 10 NASA centers. (Source: NASA, 09/28/10)

Shuttle tank on way to Kennedy

The external fuel tank that will power the last planned space shuttle is expected to arrive Sunday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The tank has been restored to flight configuration at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans after sustaining damage during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The tank, ET-122, was shipped out Tuesday. It will support shuttle Endeavour's flight targeted for launch in February. (Source: Tcp, based on NASA release, 09/20/10)

Contract awarded for road expansion

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NPD Resources Inc. of Brookhaven, Miss., has been awarded a $12.46 million contract to expand Highway 607 at Stennis Space Center from two lanes to four lanes. The project is expected to take 18 months. The highway will be expanded to a four-lane divided roadway between Saturn Drive and Texas Flat Road at Stennis Space Center, a distance of about four miles. The improvement will be made by adding two lanes west of the existing roadway from Saturn Drive to the north security gate at Stennis and adding two lanes east of the existing roadway from the gate to Texas Flat Road. A 30-foot median will separate the four lanes. The roadway addition is part of a larger project to expand state Route 607 to four lanes all the way to I-59. The expanded road not only will provide service to Stennis Space Center, but will serve as a hurricane evacuation route. (Source: NASA, 09/22/10)

PW on track for 2011 test at SSC

Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne successfully completed the latest round of tests on the gas generator for NASA's J-2X rocket engine. With the first NASA J-2X engine far along in development, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne is on track to begin testing in 2011 at John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies Corp.company. It has an operation at Stennis Space Center. (Source: PRNewswire, 09/21/10)

SSC kicks off LEGO League competition

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Students from across Mississippi gathered at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center last week for a kickoff workshop for the 2010 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO League competition. The robotics competition is for children ages 9 to 14. The focus is on inspiring and celebrating science and technology through hands-on participation and learning. Once robots are built, student teams will compete in the 2010 FLL Mississippi Championship Tournament, scheduled for Dec. 4 in Hattiesburg. (Source: NASA, 09/21/10)

Geospatial program selected for funding

A program in South Mississippi centered around Stennis Space Center will receive $600,000 in funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration from its pilot "Innovative Economies" program. The announcement was made today by SBA Administrator Karen Mills. The Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions, which has transitioned to the South Mississippi-based non-profit Magnolia Business Alliance, focuses on the growth of the Mississippi and Louisiana geospatial cluster. It won a one-year contract with an option for another year to help create jobs. The Mississippi Enterprise for Technology is an MBA team member. There were 10 awards announced. (Source: Tcp, 09/20/10) SBA press release

September issue of Lagniappe available

The September issue of Lagniappe, a monthly newsletter about NASA activities at Stennis Space Center, is now available for download. This issue includes a story about the opening of Stennis’ new records facility and an item on NASA technology chief Robert Braun’s visit to Stennis. Other stories in the newsletter: A senate staff member visit to Stennis; an update on test area activities at Stennis; a story on the opening of Kidz Zone; an update on Infinity construction and more. (Source: Lagniappe, September 2010)

Search on for Bonhomme Richard

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The U.S. Navy, along with the Ocean Technology Foundation, the British Royal navy and the French navy, is leading a search for the remains of the warship Bonhomme Richard off the coast of England. The search, which began last week, will last 10 days. The oceanographic survey ship USNS Henson, operated by Military Sealift Command for the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, is the primary platform for the search. The survey crew is comprised of oceanographers from the Stennis-based Naval Oceanographic Office. Bonhomme Richard was a frigate given by France to John Paul Jones during the Revolutionary War. It was lost in 1779 after a decisive battle with HMS Serapis. Jones and his crew emerged from the battle victorious, seizing HMS Serapis as Bonhomme Richard sustained heavy damage during the battle and sank 36 hours later. (Source: NNS, 09/11/10)

September Messenger available

The September issue of Michoud Messenger, a monthly newsletter about activities at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, is available for download. The feature story is about Blade Dynamics and its decision to open a facility at Michoud. The employee spotlight is about Dana Miller, who saved a child from drowning. Other items in the newsletter: the move of Orion to Building 404; Einstein Elementary's career day; the retirement of a security officer and more. (Source: Michoud Messenger, September 2010)

Stennis industry day scheduled

NASA Stennis Industry Day is scheduled for Nov. 17-19 at Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis. The event is presented by the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology, Gulf Coast Government Contractors Association and Louisiana Technology Transfer Office. For more information, contact Hazel Wiggington, GCGCA events and meetings director, at events@gcgca.org

NASA wants to share great ideas

NASA is seeking information from potential partners who could provide no-cost brokerage services for intellectual property transactions to help transfer NASA-owned technologies into the marketplace. "Technology transfer always has been an important objective of America's aeronautics and space program," said NASA Chief Technologist Bobby Braun. "We want to accelerate the agency's efforts to get groundbreaking technologies and innovations from development efforts out into commercial markets. We're asking for information from broker services on how they might help us do this, without any cost to the taxpayer." The request for information is posted on the FedBizOps website. (Source: NASA, PRNewswire, 09/08/10)

Cluster goes from public to private sector

The Enterprise for Geospatial Solutions has shifted from the University of Mississippi oversight to the private sector in an organization called Magnolia Business Alliance. The university and member companies decided the organization matured to the point that the private sector is best suited to take over. The state of Mississippi, first through the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative and then through EIGS, has spent the last decade nurturing a high-tech business cluster in the geospatial industry. During the past year, 847 people were employed by EIGS member companies with an average salary double the per capita income for the state. Revenues for the cluster topped $125 million. The Web site is www.magnolia-ba.biz. (Source: Magnolia Business Alliance, 09/02/10)

Push on for Infinity contributions

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Former Apollo 13 astronaut Fred W. Haise was at a Mississippi Enterprise for Technology luncheon to discuss the Infinity science center and a push for community contributions. Infinity is being built south of Interstate 10 near the Mississippi Welcome Center and will highlight the science and technology activities at Stennis Space Center. The building is under a fast pace of construction, with the second floor being stood up now. MeET executive director Charlie Beasley pointed out that the Granite Paver program is an excellent way for small and medium sized businesses to contribute. The pavers are available from $3,000 to $15,000. Beasely said the science center is one of the most significant projects in the region for economic development, education, and tourism. About 30 representatives attended from Stennis companies, contractors, and universities. (Source: Tcp, 09/01/10)

DHS email via private cloud

The Department of Homeland Security will provide e-mail-as-a-service through a private cloud platform to its various components and agencies as part of data-center consolidation efforts, Richard Spires, DHS’ chief information officer, said at a conference on public-sector data centers Tuesday. “We looked at the cloud offerings provided by outsiders. Right now, for a number of reasons, we decided to keep it in-house." DHS is on track to move 24 data centers into two large-scale centers by 2014, Spires said. One data center, at NASA Stennis Space Center, Miss., is managed by Computer Sciences Corp. The other is in southern Virginia and hosted by Hewlett-Packard. (Source: Government Computer News, 08/31/10)

SSC awards contract for sensor

Lion Precision of St. Paul, Minn., manufacturer of high-performance displacement sensors, was awarded a Cooperative Agreement with NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center to develop a smart sensor and associated communication protocols to monitor valve position and wear. The eddy-current displacement sensors will monitor valves responsible for the flow of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen in rocket engine test cells. (Source: PR.com, 08/31/10)