StenniSphere closing

StenniSphere. NASA photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- StenniSphere, the museum and visitor center at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, is closing Feb. 15. The closure of the facility within the gates of SSC comes as the Infinity science center project moves forward. Various exhibits from StenniSphere are being moved into Infinity to prepare for an opening this spring. Infinity is outside SSC, just south of Interstate 10. StenniSphere opened to the public in May 2000 and has hosted tens of thousands of visitors each year. The facility housed 14,000 square feet of interactive and informational exhibits highlighting NASA’s space missions and the work of other key resident agencies at Stennis. (Source: NASA, 01/30/12)

SSC starting powerpack tests

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- A new series of tests on the J-2X engine that will power the upper stage of NASA's Space Launch System will begin next week. The tests will be on the J-2X powerpack, which is on the top portion of the J-2X. It includes the gas generator, oxygen and fuel turbopumps and related ducts and valves that bring the propellants together to create combustion and generate thrust. About a dozen powerpack tests of varying lengths are slated through summer at Stennis' A-1 Test Stand. The J-2X is being developed by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne. (Source: NASA, 01/25/12)

SSC to show off J-2X

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA's Stennis Space Center has invited the media to take a look next week at the facilities used to test the J-2X engines that will be used with the Space Launch System. On Wednesday they'll see the test control center, the A-1 Test Stand where the J-2X powerpack will be tested soon, as well as the facility where the final assembly is done on the J-2X. The SLS will launch the Orion crew capsule that will take astronauts into deep space. NASA officials will provide a briefing on the SLS and J-2X and what goes into testing the engine. (Source: NASA, 01/20/12)

Two agencies push STEM training

For NASA and the Navy, ensuring there's a pool of talent versed in science, technology, engineering and math is crucial, and both agencies have programs in place to pique the interest of the next generation of workers. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with a center at Stennis Space Center, Miss., and the Navy, a tenant at SSC, are reaching Mississippi students through several programs. Between January and November 2011, nearly 1,000 educators and 10,000 students have been served through SSC programs. And this year the Navy will launch "Mission Ocean," a year-long submarine-related program. (Source: Alliance Insight, "NASA, Navy push STEM training," January 2012) Full newsletter

Interest in SSC rising

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- The announcement in early December that Blue Origin of Kent, Wash., would test its engines at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss., was the latest in a series of stories over the past few months that point to an intriguing future for the rocket propulsion test center. Stennis Space Center Director Patrick Scheuermann said word is getting out about the test stands, the land available for development and the expertise at SSC, and commercial companies are showing interest. "We had been hearing on sort of an infrequent basis," Scheuermann said about companies interested in working with SSC, "but in the last couple of years the frequency has picked up quite a bit." SSC is home not only to NASA, but a host of other federal and state science and technology operations. (Source: Alliance Insight, "Companies looking at SSC," January 2012) Full newsletter

Would-be astronauts sign up

Applications close at the end of the month for a new group of astronauts to fly NASA's Orion capsule to points still to be decided. So far more than 1,300 people have applied, comparable to the response NASA received from its calls for space shuttle crews, according to Aviation Week. The capsule, along with the heavy-lift Space Launch System, is envisioned as being able to support missions to a variety of destination. The first Orion flight on an SLS, tentatively set for 2017, probably will go around the Moon, and the first flight with a crew, in 2021, may follow suit. It's also possible that the capsule will dock with the International Space Station, as a backup crew-transport vehicle to the private spacecraft under development. (Source: Aviation Week, 01/13/12) Note: Orion and portions of the SLS are being built at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans; the propulsion systems for SLS are being tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Second Spaced Out launched

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA announced a second Spaced Out Sports competition, challenging students in grades 5-8 to create science-based games that will be played by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The initial competition attracted 56 submissions. It's part of a broader agency education effort to engage students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities. Students have until March 16 to design or redesign a game to illustrate and apply Sir Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion. They will submit game demonstrations for review via a playbook and video, and three submissions will be chosen before the end of the 2012 spring school semester. The first-place team will be awarded a school-wide celebration sponsored by NASA. All three of the winning teams will be able to watch their games played aboard the ISS. More information on Spaced Out Sports. (Source: NASA, 01/12/12)

Contract: SAIC, $10.6M

Science Applications International Corp., McLean, Va., is being awarded a $10,647,009 modification to a previously awarded, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Deep Sea Operations Program to introduce surveillance that operates at extreme ocean depths to detect quiet submarines. The exercising of this 15-month option brings the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $12,199,237. Work will be conducted at contractor facilities in Arlington, Va. (27 percent); Long Beach, Miss. (27 percent); San Diego, Calif. (22 percent); Austin, Texas (17 percent); Germantown, Md. (six percent); and Melbourne, Fla. (one percent). Work is expected to be completed April 11, 2013. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 01/12/12)

Engine moves under way

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The relocation of the RS-25D space shuttle main engine inventory from Kennedy Space Center's Engine Shop in Cape Canaveral, Fla., to Stennis Space Center, Miss., is under way. The RS-25D flight engines will be used in NASA's Space Launch System, the new heavy-lift launch vehicle that will expand human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system. SLS will carry the Orion spacecraft, its crew, cargo, equipment and scientific experiments to destinations in deep space. "The relocation of RS-25D engine assets represents a significant cost savings to the SLS Program by consolidating SLS engine assembly and test operations at a single facility," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA's Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The 15 RS-25D engines at Kennedy are being transported on the 700-mile journey using existing transportation and processing procedures that were used to move engines between Kennedy and Stennis during the Space Shuttle Program. (Source: NASA, 01/12/12) Previous post

SSC experts to chair event

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Two oceanographers from NASA's Stennis Space Center will chair an upcoming conference on ocean sensing and monitoring. The International Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Defense Security and Sensing's fourth Ocean Sensing and Monitoring conference is scheduled for April 23-27 in Baltimore, Md. It will be chaired by Weilin "Will" Hou and Bob Arnone, both oceanographers in the Oceanography Division at Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center. Hou developed the conference for SPIE and has chaired the event with Arnone since 2008. The conference will focus on research and development efforts in the open and coastal ocean with respect to defense and security interests. An emphasis will be placed on in situ and remote monitoring, deep-sea operations, forecasting, new technology and techniques, monitoring of unique events, and environmental limitations and impacts of note to those in the homeland security and defense sectors. (Source: Naval Research Laboratory, 01/11/12)

SAIC gets NASA contract

Science Applications International Corp. was awarded a prime contract to build out the Facilities Management Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The award is for construction phase services, value engineering and total building commissioning services. The follow-on contract has a one-year base period of performance, four one-year options, and a contract value of more than $11 million if all options are exercised. Work will be done at MSFC and NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La. SAIC is based in McLean, Va. (Source: PRNewswire, Washington Technology, 01/11/12)

SSC kicks off FIRST

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Forty-one teams from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi high schools and 350 guests were at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center Saturday for the kickoff of the 2012 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics season. The FIRST Robotics Competition is designed to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Each year, teams across the nation are given identical parts kits and six weeks to build robots. The teams then use the robots to compete in regional events and a season-ending national tournament. (Source: NASA, 01/10/12) Previous post

Engine prepped for SSC

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Kennedy Space Center has invited the media to be on hand Thursday, Jan. 12, for a photo opportunity as one of the space shuttle man engines is prepared for shipment to Stennis Space Center, Miss. Each engine, built by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne, is 14 feet long and more than 7 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. All 15 of the SSMEs will be sent to SSC, where they'll be stored for use on NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System. (Source: Kennedy Space Center, 01/09/12) Previous SSME story

KSC takes on new role

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Work is ramping up at the Orion spacecraft facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., expanding the spaceport's role beyond launch operations to include final assembly. Tooling to assemble the spacecraft is being put in place in the renovated high bay, first erected for the Apollo project. About 260 people already work on Orion at KSC. The number will increase to about 400 by June in preparations for the first flight test in early 2014. (Source: Florida Today, 01/07/12) Gulf Coast note: Technicians at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, are putting the finishing touches on the second Orion capsule, and will also be doing work on portions of the Space Launch System. "Orion will use MAF for construction of the crew module and other portions. KSC will be used for final assembly of the entire spacecraft," said Jennifer Morcone Stanfield, public affairs officer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

RR to open second SSC test stand

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Rolls-Royce North America is adding a second jet engine test stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center, representing a company investment of at least $50 million and creating 35 new jobs. The announcement was made Monday by Gov. Haley Barbour. Rolls-Royce currently employs 45 workers at the initial test stand operation. James M. Guyette, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Rolls-Royce North America, said this type of public-private partnership "make it possible for us to invest in America and compete in a global economy." Headquartered in Reston, Va., Rolls-Royce North America opened its Outdoor Jet Engine Testing Facility at SSC in 2007. Testing at SSC includes noise, crosswind, thrust reverse, cyclic and endurance testing on all current Rolls-Royce engine types. (Source: Mississippi Development Authority, 01/09/12)

Award to be presented

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- A presentation is planned for Jan. 10 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in recognition of the center being named one of the best places to work among 240 federal organizations. John Palguta, vice president for policy with the non-profit Partnership for Public Service, will present an award. SSC ranked at the top of all NASA centers and was second out of 240 federal organizations in the annual U.S. Office of Personnel Management's Employee Viewpoint Survey totaling 266,000 responses. (Source: NASA, 01/05/12) Previous post

Creativity saved AEHF

For months military personnel tried to save the Advanced Extremely High Frequency 1 satellite after it failed to launch into geosynchronous orbit in 2010. Valued at over $1 billion, AEHF 1 is the first in a series of nuclear-survivable spacecraft designed to ensure American leadership with communications. It was launched in August 2010. But when debris in the propellant line prevented the Liquid Apogee Engine from firing, the satellite seemed doomed to remain in the transfer orbit. But after more than a year, the satellite was coaxed into orbit thanks to engineering creativity. The team used smaller hydrazine thrusters to lift the orbit a bit, then electric thrusters were used in a way never planned: fired for days, weeks and months to push AEHF 1 into a circular geosynchronous orbit on Oct. 24, 2011. (Source: Spaceflight, 01/03/12) Gulf Coast note: The Lockheed Martin AEHF satellite's core propulsion module is built at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous post

FIRST kickoff set for Saturday

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA's Stennis Space Center will host the FIRST robotics kickoff event Saturday, Jan. 7. This is the eighth year SSC has hosted the robot-building event for FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Activities begin at 9 a.m. with a presentation at StenniSphere auditorium. Members from 41 participating teams from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi will be provided with details on this year's competition to be held in the spring. FIRST is designed to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. (Source: NASA, 01/03/12)

UT shakes up aerospace field

United Technologies made some bold business moves in 2011, analysts say. It acquired Goodrich, creating a "super-supplier" with a vast product line, and unveiled a joint venture between subsidiary Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce. One analyst said the Goodrich buy is a sizable bet on commercial aerospace. UT CEO Louis R. Chenevert was chosen by Aviation Week editors as the person who had the most impact on the industry in 2011. (Source: Aviation Week, 12/30/11) Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne assembles and tests rocket engines at Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Rolls-Royce tests commercial aircraft engines at SSC.