Test stand contract awarded

NORWALK, Conn. -- EMCOR Group Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Harry Pepper and Associates, has been awarded a task order by NASA under a previously awarded contract. The task order is for restoration of the B-2 Rocket Test Stand at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss. Harry Pepper and Associates will be responsible for all repairs and alterations necessary to restore the original functionality of the B-2 test stand. The work includes demolishing one of the major levels/decks of the test stand, reconstructing it with stainless steel structural framing and deck plate, and restoring its various areas of fixed deck by replacing the carbon steel, galvanized grating, and structural steel. (Source: Business Wire, 11/28/12)

NASA evaluating Orion cracks

NASA is evaluating options for repairing the first Orion crew capsule scheduled to fly in space after it sustained cracks during pressure testing at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The test was designed to demonstrate weld strength and structural performance at maximum flight operation pressures. The damage is not expected to delay a 2014 test flight, where the capsule without a crew will be launched atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV to a distance 3,600 miles above the Earth. Orion is being developed to fly astronauts on deep space exploration missions. (Source: Florida Today, 11/28/12) The olive green aluminum alloy core of the Orion was built at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

PRCC, EPA ink agreement

POPLARVILLE, Miss. -- Pearl River Community College and the Environmental Protection Agency signed an agreement to get students involved in environmental studies. The agreement between the PRCC Honors Institute and the EPA's Gulf of Mexico Program was signed Monday. PRCC honors students will be used in projects aimed at improving the environmental quality of the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico Program was founded in 1988 at NASA's Stennis Space Center. It promotes programs on environmental and cultural issues associated with preserving the Gulf Coast. It has several partnerships with universities, and PRCC is the first community college to sign on. (Source: Picayune Item, 11/27/12)

FIRST LEGO League event slated

Journalists are invited to attend the 2012 Mississippi Championship FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO League Tournament at the Lake Terrace Convention Center in Hattiesburg on Dec. 1. The 2012 tournament begins the second decade of FIRST LEGO League activity in Mississippi. NASA at John C. Stennis Space Center is the primary sponsor of the annual tournament. Each year, the Stennis Office of Education provides funding and a variety of volunteers and mentors for the competition. More than 500 elementary and middle school students and as many as 50 teams from across Mississippi are scheduled to participate in the free event open to the public. (Source: NASA/SSC, 11/28/12)

J-2X test conducted

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- A J-2X power pack assembly had a hot fire test Nov. 27 at NASA's Stennis Space Center. Engineers pulled the assembly from the test stand in September to install additional instrumentation in the fuel turbopump. The test, which ran for 278 seconds, verified the newly installed strain gauges designed to measure the turbine structural strain when the turbopump is spinning at high speeds that vary between 25,000 and 30,000 rotations-per-minute. The J-2X engine, built by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., will power the upper stage of NASA's Space Launch System, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The new heavy-lift rocket system will launch the Orion spacecraft and enable humans to explore new destinations beyond low Earth orbit. (Source: NASA/SSC, 11/27/12)

Test complex has busy week

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – The E Test Complex at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center was busy the week of Nov. 5. Twenty seven tests were conducted over three days on three different rocket engines/components and on three E Complex test stands. These included tests on the three stands during a 24-hour period Nov. 6-7 and during a nine-hour-plus period on Nov. 8. Test managers characterized the convergence of tests as historic. (Source: Lagniappe, November issue)

SSC lab tour slated

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- The Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MSET) will host a tour of the NASA Laboratories Dec. 4 beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Building 8110. The tour is designed to familiarize local businesses about the services available from the labs and the mechanism by which these services can be utilized. To register, click here. (Source: MSET)

NASA selects procurement services

WASHINGTON -- NASA selected Brandan Enterprises Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn., for agencywide contract-closeout and procurement-support services, effective Feb. 1, 2013. The contract consists of an eight-month base period with three one-year option periods and one eight-month option. The potential maximum contract value for contract closeout support is about $12.5 million. The ordering provision for procurement support services has a potential maximum value of $30 million. The contract will provide services to all of NASA's acquisition offices. Closeout services covered include contracts, purchase orders, grants, cooperative agreements, interagency agreements and other agreements. The contract is managed at the NASA Shared Services Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss. The NSSC is a partnership between NASA, business solutions provider CSC and the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. The center performs selected business activities for all NASA centers. (Source: NASA, 11/21/12)

Consortium slates meeting

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- The Stennis Business Consortium will hold a meeting Nov. 27, 1 to 2:30 p.m., highlighting Louisiana groups that provide resources to small businesses. The event is at the StenniSphere auditorium, Building 1200, Stennis Space Center. An annual supplier and service provider showcase is 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 28 in the atrium of Building 1100. Contact Laurie Jugan at 228-688-1192. To register, click here. (Source: MSET)

SAIC gets contract

NASA awarded Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) of Mclean, Va., a modification to its integrated communications services contract at the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.; and Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. SAIC provides voice communication services including procurement implementation and operation of an Internet protocol telephone system. The contract is managed at the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) at Stennis Space Center, Miss. NSSC is a partnership between NASA, CSC and the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. NSSC performs selected business activities for all 10 NASA centers in financial management, human resources, information technology and procurement. (Source: NASA/NSSC, 10/31/12)

Robot transmits through hurricane

Liquid Robotics' Wave Glider, an autonomous marine robot, got a front-row seat to Hurricane Sandy. The robot Mercury transmitted weather data in real time through winds up to 70 knots off the coast of New Jersey. But being in the storm was an accident. They tried to get out of the storm's way, but it was too massive. Mercury was originally functioning as part of another project to demonstrate the use and cost effectiveness of the system for advanced ocean measurement and enhanced tsunami detection. It's not the first time a Liquid Robotics system got caught in a hurricane. Back in August one of Liquid Robotics' systems in the Gulf of Mexico, G2, got caught in Hurricane Isaac. It was able to transmit water temperature, wind speeds, barometric pressure and air temperature. (Source: Liquid Robotics, 10/31/12) Note: Liquid Robotics has an office at the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology at Stennis Space Center, Miss.