Ribbon cut on cryogenics control building

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA cut the ribbon on a new cryogenics control center at John C. Stennis Space Center today, marking near completion of a project to strengthen protection for liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen barges in the event of a natural disaster. The new structure consolidates LH and LOX operations and provides a safe shelter for a disaster ride-out crew. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, NASA conducted a study to identify support systems at the site that should be "hardened" to withstand the impacts of future storms. The study cited the need to provide a safe haven for LH and LOX cryogenic barges needed to perform rocket engine testing at the south Mississippi facility. The project ensures a safe haven for all six LOX and three LH barges at Stennis. (Source: NASA, 03/30/10)

NVision gets GSA contract

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - NVision Solutions was recently awarded a U.S. General Services Administration contract that grants government agencies direct access to NVision's IT services, including geospatial technology products. "This agreement means government customers can now directly contract with GSA for NVision products and services using our government pre-approved prices. This new contract vehicle allows us to better serve our customers," said NVision President Socorro Harvey. (Source: NVision Solutions, 03/30/11) NVision Solutions is a former member of the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

April Messenger available

The April issue of Michoud Messenger, a monthly newsletter about activities at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, is available for download. The issue includes a report about a new tenant, B-K Manufacturing, which designs, manufactures, tests and assembles precision hardware and components; the United Kingdom ambassador's visit to Blade Dynamics, which will make wind turbine blades and components at MAF; the appointment of Chris Crumbly to the new position of deputy director of MAF, and more. (Source: Michoud Messenger, April 2011)

J-2X assembly in full swing

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Assembly of the first J-2X, called engine 10001, is in full swing at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss. Managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, the J-2X engine is a rocket engine with the performance characteristics to power the upper-stage of a heavy-lift launch vehicle. Fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the J-2X engine will generate 294,000 pounds of thrust to propel a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit to the moon, an asteroid, or other celestial destination. This week, the Stennis Space Center's A-2 test stand was certified ready to support J-2X development testing. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif. is the prime contractor for the design and manufacture of the J-2X. Hot fire testing of Engine 10001 is targeted for later this summer at Stennis. (Source: NASA, 03/24/11)

MsET-linked company projects chosen

OXFORD, Miss. - The Center for Traveler Information at the University of Mississippi announced it selected three proposals from members of the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions to develop geospatial products for travelers. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the research will develop tools for safely receiving transit and traffic information while traveling. NVision Solutions, a graduate of the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology at Stennis Space Center, Miss., and current MsET tenants, Innovative Imaging & Research Corp. and DQSI LLC, were selected for the work. (Source: Directions Magazine, 03/22/11)

Teams compete in robotics event

Students from 38 high school teams in seven states competed for top honors during the 2011 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Bayou Regional competition March 17-19 in New Orleans. An alliance of teams from Gulfport High School, St. Patrick Catholic High School in Biloxi, Miss., and Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge, La., emerged as the tournament champion. In addition, Northshore High School in Slidell, La., won the Regional Chairman’s Award, which recognizes the team creating the best partnership effort and best exemplifying the true meaning of FIRST. The FIRST competition is designed to encourage students to pursue engineering and technology careers. High school teams are given six weeks to build robots that can perform assigned tasks. They then compete in regional events across the country to earn a chance to go to the finals. NASA and the John C. Stennis Space Center are strong supporters of FIRST Robotics and the Bayou Regional event through direct monetary support and the work of judges, volunteers and team mentors. (Source: NASA, 03/22/11)

Service provider seminar set

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Gary Yarborough from Hancock Insurance Agency will be featured at this month's Service Provider Seminar, Monday, March 28 at noon in the Herman Glazier Conference Room in building 1103. Yarborough's presentation, directed at small business owners, will focus on the process to implement group benefit programs. His talk will include a wide range of insurance-related information. To register, click on the MsET link below, then on “Register Now.” For more information, e-mail Belinda Gill or call her at 228-688-3144. (Source: MsET, 03/21/11)

AJ26 tested over weekend

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA supported acceptance testing Saturday on an Aerojet AJ26 flight engine that will power the first stage of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Taurus II space launch vehicle. The test of the AJ26 engine supports Orbital Sciences' effort to demonstrate its commercial cargo transportation system in preparation for future International Space Station cargo resupply missions. NASA has partnered with Orbital as part of the agency's ongoing Commercial Orbital Transportation Services initiative. The test on the E-1 Test Stand at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center was performed by a team of Orbital, Aerojet, and Stennis engineers. Once test data has been reviewed and verified, the engine will be sent to the Wallops Flight Facility launch site in Virginia for integration with the Taurus II rocket's first-stage core. Orbital is scheduled to carry out the first of eight cargo missions to the space station in early 2012. (Source: NASA, 03/21/11)

Shared Services Center marks five years

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The NASA Shared Services Center celebrated five years of operation with an anniversary ceremony last week at Stennis Space Center. The award-winning organization is a private/public partnership between NASA, contractor CSC and the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. The NSSC performs selected business activities for all ten NASA centers in financial management, human resources, information technology, and procurement. (Source: NASA Shared Services Center, 03/18/11)

Robotics competition nears

Students from 38 high school teams from seven states will compete at the Bayou Regional FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition March 17 to 19 at the Alario Center in Westwego, La. FIRST is a competition that teaches teamwork to students while immersing them in the world of engineering. The teams and mentors work to solve a common engineering problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard kit of parts. Teams from across the country then pit their robots against those of other schools in skills competitions. Competitions will be held Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. NASA and John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss., support FIRST by providing team coaches, mentors, training, judges, referees, a machine shop and other volunteers. Participants include 23 teams from Louisiana and eight teams from Mississippi. (Source: NASA, 03/15/11)

Garver: Stennis a role model

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver was in South Mississippi Thursday to reinforce the importance of NASA's Stennis Space Center and to meet with employees there. She told the Sun Herald at an editorial board meeting that SSC is a unique facility that should be fully utilized. She held up Stennis, where up to 30 percent of the costs are borne by other government agencies and companies, as an example of how capabilities can be share. (Source: Sun Herald, 03/10/11)

New consortium sets first meeting

The newly created Stennis Business Consortium will hold its inaugural quarterly meeting at 2 p.m. March 30 in Room 107 of the NASA Conference Center behind Building 1100 at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Coordinated by the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology and the Louisiana Technology Transfer Office, the consortium was created as a forum where procurement officers and small business advocates from government agencies and prime contractors at Stennis Space Center could provide information on upcoming contract activities with each other and smaller businesses. The meeting is free but registration is required. To register, click the "MsET" link below, then click on the "register now" link. You can also e-mail Belinda Gill or call her at 228-688-3144 for additional information. (Source: MsET, 03/10/11)

March Messenger available

The March issue of Michoud Messenger, a monthly newsletter about activities at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, is available for download. The issue includes reports about the revival of the metrology lab, which opened Feb. 23; the departure of the Orion ground test article for testing in Colorado; an award from the University of New Orleans, and more. (Source: Michoud Messenger, March 2011)

NVision gets DoD award

The Department of Defense named NVision Solutions Inc., of Bay St. Louis, Miss., a 2011 winner of the Nunn-Perry Award under the DoD Mentor-Protégé program. NVision partnered with Computer Sciences Corp. and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. The DoD Office of Small Business Programs presented the award for accomplishments as a DoD Mentor- Protégé team. NVision and CSC have worked together since 2007. The partnering is the first National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Mentor-Protégé agreement in Mississippi. (Source: NVision Solutions, 03/09/11)

First RS-68A production unit ready

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne completed a series of Hardware Acceptance Reviews on the first RS-68A production rocket engine, validating the hydrogen-fueled engine is ready to power a heavy-lift vehicle into space. Engine 30003, the first of three RS-68A production engines to undergo a review, has been shipped to Decatur, Ala., for integration onto a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle. RS-68A production engines 30004 and 30005 will undergo hardware reviews in March and April 2011 after completion of hot-fire testing at Stennis Space Center, Miss. The three engines are scheduled to boost the Delta IV Heavy next year carrying a government payload into orbit. (Source: PRNewswire, 03/08/11)

Uncertainty concerns PWR

The failure to devise a spaceflight plan for NASA after the shuttle fleet is retired raises the specter of more workforce cuts in the U.S. launch industry, according to the head of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. Jim Maser estimates that NASA, the White House and Congress have "four to eight months" to choose a way forward. After that, he expects layoffs at PWR he begins to roll up unfunded rocket engine programs like the J-2X cryogenic upper-stage engine. Developed for the Ares I crew launch vehicle under the old Constellation program, the first full-up J-2X is set to begin testing at Stennis Space Center, Miss., next month. (Source: Aviation Week, 03/08/11)

Stennis team set for key test

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The E-2 Test Stand team at John C. Stennis Space Center is preparing to test a vital component designed for another rocket engine test stand under construction at the NASA facility. Testing on the three-module chemical steam generator (CSG) is designed to confirm it will perform as needed. The tests also will provide critical data about operating the unit. The new A-3 Test Stand will use nine three-module CSG units to generate superheated steam needed to create a vacuum. The vacuum will allow operators to test next-generation rocket engines at simulated high altitudes up to 100,000 feet. Testing at such simulated altitudes is critical for next-generation engines necessary to carry humans into deep space. (Source: NASA, 03/04/11)

NGI conference set

The Northern Gulf Institute's annual conference will be held May 17-19 in Mobile, Ala., at the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel. The conference will include updates on the activities and direction of the institute, but the emphasis of the conference will be on research presentations and poster presentations by the NGI project teams. NGI, based at Stennis Space Center, Miss., is a NOAA cooperative institute that includes Mississippi State University, Florida State University, University of Southern Mississippi, Louisiana State University and Dauphin Island Sea Lab. (Source: NGI, 03/02/11)

Lunch and Learn speaker scheduled

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Marina Benigno will be guest speaker at the next "Lunch and Learn" series of the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology. It will be held March 10 at the Herman C. Glazier Conference Room, Building 1103, Stennis Space Center. Networking will begin at 11:30 a.m. with lunch at noon. Benigno is currently under an IPA (Intergovernmental Personnel Act) to MsET from NASA and is helping MsET expand the working relationship between the two. For more information, contact Belinda Gill at MsET by e-mail or by calling 228-688-3144. (Source: MsET, 03/02/11)

LSU 100 recognizes DQSI

COVINGTON, La. - DQSI, a member of the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology at Stennis Space Center, Miss., was selected as an inaugural member of the LSU 100, a group that highlights the fastest growing businesses with connections to Louisiana State University. LSU computer scientist Dr. Shelly Stubbs in 1998 started DQSI, which provides military, civilian and commercial clients with technical, management and research services. The first annual LSU 100 program selected from hundreds of nominated companies. Honorees include companies from several states and locations outside the United States. (Source: DQSI, 02/28/11)