Hydroid on track with AUV

Hydroid Inc. said it has passed Critical Design Review to provide Littoral Battlespace Sensing (LBS) Autonomous Undersea Vehicles (AUVs) and associated technologies to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR). The review was to verify that Hydroid is in compliance with design requirements to proceed with system fabrication, demonstration, and testing. Hydroid is providing REMUS 600 AUVs with technologies for meteorological and oceanographic data collection, as well as technologies to process and disseminate the data. The end user will be the Naval Oceanographic Office at Stennis Sapce Center, Miss., which provides data to all elements of the Department of Defense. (Source: SeaDiscovery, 05/26/11)

Images show extent of river sediment

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA's Applied Science and Technology Project Office at the John C. Stennis Space Center has provided satellite images to the Army Corps of Engineers and Louisiana showing large amounts of sediment throughout coastal Louisiana as a result of flooding on the Mississippi River. The images show three large areas of sediment, or plumes, moving through the floodwaters across Louisiana. The U.S. Geological Survey and NASA are providing satellite imagery to help in flood response efforts. It's part of the Applied Science and Technology Project Office's commitment to use data from agency satellites to help communities address issues of concern. (Source: NASA, 05/27/11)

New spacecraft based on Orion

NASA this week said a new spacecraft to take humans into deep space will be based on designs for the Orion crew exploration vehicle, and be built by Lockheed Martin. Orion, originally designed to take astronauts back to the moon, is a surviving component of the Constellation program canceled by President Barack Obama last year. The new spacecraft is called the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) and will carry four astronauts for 21-day missions and be able to land in the Pacific. NASA has spent some $5 billion on Orion since it awarded Lockheed Martin the prime contract in September 2006. Lockheed built the Orion ground test article at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. NASA still needs to finalize plans for a heavy lift vehicle. (Sources: NASA, AFP via Montreal Gazette, Space News, 05/24/11)

SSC open house set

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center is holding a 50th anniversary open house June 2. The visitor center, StenniSphere, will be closed to the general public during the event. Passes are available through Friday at chamber offices in St. Tammany and Washington parishes, and in Picayune, Hancock, Stone and Jackson counties. Passes are also available at the Launch Pad at the Mississippi Welcome Center. (Source: NASA, 05/25/11)

MSET offers new affiliate program

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MSET) at NASA's Stennis Space Center has announced its new Affiliate Program that will allow companies not resident at SSC a chance to benefit from some of the incubator's programs. It also broadens the offerings to companies already resident within MSET. MSET is mostly known for its small business incubator, established in 1994. To the nonresident client, the program provides business development assistance within the Stennis community. Affiliates may maintain a Stennis address, care of MSET, with secure mail, package handling, notary services and optional administrative support. MSET's shared assets are also available, including conference rooms, meeting rooms, AV and office equipment. Details and fee structure of the program can be found on MSET's website. (Source: MSET, 05/09/11)

NASA awards services contract

NASA has awarded five indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity sole source contracts to Aerospace Corp. of El Segundo, Calif., for specialized engineering, evaluation and test services. These five cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts will support eight NASA centers, including John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss., and have a total maximum value of $658.25 million. The period of performance is from the date of award thru Nov. 30, 2018. (Source: NASA, 04/29/11)

NASA facility named for Estess

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA and community officials paid tribute to the late John C. Stennis Space Center Director Roy S. Estess on May 2, naming a site facility in his memory and announcing establishment of the annual Roy S. Estess Public Service Leadership Award. Estess, a Mississippi native and graduate of Mississippi State University, served as director of Stennis Space Center from 1989 to 2002, gaining a reputation as an agency pioneer, as well as a mentor and coach to many who later led or still lead throughout NASA. "His legacy will not be forgotten," Stennis Director Patrick Scheuermann said during a May 2 ceremony at the south Mississippi facility. "The significant contributions of Roy Estess will be etched in our memories for generations." (Source: NASA, 05/02/11)