Orbital tests rocket at new pad

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- NASA commercial partner Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Va., successfully conducted an engine test of its Antares rocket Friday at the nation's newest launch pad. The company fired dual AJ26 rocket engines for the full duration 29 seconds while the rocket was bolted down on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. Known as a "hot fire" test, it demonstrated the readiness of the rocket's first stage and launch pad fueling systems to support upcoming test flights. (Source: NASA, 02/22/13) Orbital partner Aerojet tests AJ26 engines at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

Space travel revolution?

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Gov. Robert Bentley was in Huntsville Friday to unveil a "fusion power generator" developed by the University of Alabama in Huntsville that could revolutionize space travel. The ceremony at Redstone Arsenal was to announce a $300,000 grant from the Alabama Innovation Fund and to unveil the device, called Charger 1. Officials say the device will be instrumental in advancing propulsion technology and maintaining Alabama's status as one of the leading states in the nation in aerospace and propulsion research. (Source: AL.com link, 02/22/13) NASA tests propulsion systems at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

New round of tests begin

J-2X test Feb. 15. NASA photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA conducted the first in a new round of tests on the J-2X rocket engine Feb. 15 at Stennis Space Center. The 35-second test continued progress in development of the engine that will power the upper-stage of NASA's new Space Launch System. The new round of tests on J-2X engine number 10002 on the A-2 Test Stand will provide performance data. Once the series is completed, the engine will be transferred to the A-1 Test Stand at SSC to undergo a series of gimbal (or pivot) tests for the first time. The J-2X engine is the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen engine developed in the United States in decades. It is being designed and built by NASA and partner Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif. (Source: NASA, Space Travel, 02/21/13) Previous

Space tech directorate created

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced creation of the Space Technology Mission Directorate, which will be a catalyst for the creation of technologies and innovation needed to maintain NASA leadership in space while also benefiting America's economy. The directorate will develop the cross-cutting, pioneering new technologies needed for NASA's current and future missions, many of which also benefit America's aerospace industries, other government agencies. NASA will focus leadership responsibility for the existing Space Technology Program in the mission directorate, improving communication, management and accountability of critical technology investment activities across the agency. Associate Administrator Michael Gazarik will head the organization. The Space Technology Mission Directorate will employ a portfolio approach, spanning a range of discipline areas and technology readiness levels. Research and technology development will take place within NASA centers, in academia, and industry, and leverage collaboration with other government and international partners. (Source: NASA, 02/21/13) NASA's Stennis Space Center is in South Mississippi and its manufacturing center, Michoud Assembly Facility, is in east New Orleans.

Haise visits supercomputer center

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise visited the Navy Department of Defense Supercomputing Resource Center (DSRC) at SSC last week for a tour of the center's three new supercomputers -- named after NASA astronauts who served in the Navy. One was named for Haise, who trained as a naval aviator. The two other systems are named for retired Navy Cmdr. Susan Still Kilrain, a naval aviator and space shuttle pilot, and retired Navy Capt. Eugene Cernan, a naval aviator and the last man to step foot on the moon. The IBM iDataPlex systems were installed in the fall of 2012 and became operational in January. The Navy DSRC assists in delivering wind, wave and other oceanographic forecasts to the Navy fleet. It’s one of five Defense Department supercomputer centers that Navy, Army and Air Force scientists and researchers use to design tools and weapons systems that support DoD's global mission. The new systems have tripled the supercomputing capability of the DSRC. The DSRC's current supercomputing capacity is 866 trillion floating point operations (teraflops) a second. One hundred high school students with handheld calculators would take nearly 317 years to perform the number of calculations a one teraflop-rated computer can accomplish in one second-and almost 275,000 years to perform what the new Navy DSRC supercomputers will be capable of every second. The DSRC is expected to increase its capacity to approximately 5,200 teraflops by 2016. (Source: NNS, 02/20/13)

Palazzo visits MSFC

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Space Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Steven Palazzo was in Huntsville Thursday for his first tour of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the Army's Redstone Arsenal and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Palazzo, R-Miss., was hosted by Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., vice chair of the same subcommittee of the House Committee on Space, Science and Technology. Palazzo also serves on the House Armed Services Committee with Brooks, and both were assessed on military activities at Redstone Arsenal, home of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. Palazzo, who represents an area that includes NASA's Stennis Space Center, noted that the partnership between North Alabama and South Mississippi goes back to the early 60s. He said it makes sense for him and Brooks to work closely together. Palazzo complimented NASA and Redstone military leaders for their good working relationship and "sense of unity and purpose." (Sources: WAAY-TV, AL.com link, 02/21/13)

NASA seeks electrospray propulsion

NASA's Space Technology Program is seeking proposals to develop miniaturized electrospray propulsion technologies that could revolutionize small satellite propulsion systems. Electrospray thrusters use electricity to energize material and then disperse a resulting liquid or aerosol through an emitter to create thrust. The development of low-mass, lightweight micro thruster technologies has the potential to radically change propulsion capabilities of small satellites. Such micro thrusters also might be of use for very fine pointing aboard future large space-based observatories. "Small spacecraft are a dominant trend in aerospace today," said NASA's Space Technology Program Director Michael Gazarik . U.S. organizations, including NASA centers and other government agencies; federally funded research and development centers; educational institutions; industry and nonprofit organizations can submit ideas. This solicitation is an appendix to NASA's Game Changing Opportunities in Technology Development research announcement and can be found through the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System website by going to "Solicitation" and then "Open Solicitations" at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com (Source: PRNewswire, 02/20/13) Stennis Space Center, Miss., is involved in propulsion technology. NASA tests large rocket engines at SSC. It's also where Rolls-Royce tests jet engines.

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $284.4M

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded a $284,439,355 fixed-price incentive firm target contract for advanced procurement for the Space-Based Infrared Systems GEO 5-6 program. The location of performance is Sunnyvale, Calif. Work is expected to be completed by June 19, 2016. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2011 and 2012. The contracting activity is SMC/IS, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. (Source: DoD, 02/20/13) Lockheed Martin's facility at Stennis Space Center, Miss., works on the SBIR propulsion subsystem. Previous

UAV test site search underway

WASHINGTON -- The federal government Thursday began to solicit proposals for six test sites where unmanned aircraft will be put through tests in preparation for their eventual integration into U.S. airspace. The six locations, which have generated interest from more than 30 states, will become the primary testing grounds for unmanned aerial systems, scheduled to enter U.S. airspace in September 2015. The sites also will be used to address safety concerns, such as what happens if a drone has an equipment failure or operator error, according to FAA officials. The FAA had given itself a Dec. 31, 2012, deadline to name the six sites but it was delayed. It's unclear when the six winners will be chosen. (Source: Washington Times, 02/14/13) This region is involved in building and using UAVs. Fire Scouts and Global Hawks are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.; a UAV flight center opened at Camp Shelby, Miss., last spring; and UAVs are used at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

USM, Infinity join forces

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- The University of Southern Mississippi and Infinity Science Center are teaming up to provide more educational programs at the center. Board members from Infinity and representatives from Southern Miss will sign a memorandum of understanding Friday that will mark the beginning of the partnership. The goal is to provide opportunities for students, teachers and visitors to learn more about science at Infinity, the state-of-the-art new $30 million science center that opened in 2012. Infinity, near Interstate 10 south of Stennis Space Center, is one of only nine NASA Visitors Centers in the country. As part of the agreement, USM will seek grants to pay for interactive education exhibits and other programs, such as teacher workshops and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) projects. (Source: Sun Herald, 02/14/13)

Spinoff 2012 released

A plant texts a farmer to say it needs more water; an invisible coating scrubs pollutants from the air; a robot roams a hospital's halls, aiding doctors and nurses by recording vital signs and registrations. The 2012 edition of NASA's annual Spinoff publication captures a nation and world made better by advancements originally achieved for space technology. Stennis Space Center, Miss., played a key role in developing the self-cleaning coatings. (Source: PRNewswire, 02/13/13) Spinoff available online here.

Orion has successful chute test

NASA engineers demonstrated the Orion spacecraft can land safely if one of its three main parachutes fails to inflate during deployment. The test was conducted Tuesday in Yuma, Ariz., with the parachutes attached to a test article. Engineers rigged the parachutes so only two would inflate, leaving the third to flag behind, when the test capsule was dropped from a plane at 25,000 feet. The test was the eighth parachute engineering development drop test. The next is scheduled for May. The system also will be put to the test in 2014 when Orion, the crew capsule for the Space Launch System, makes its first flight test. During the mission, an uncrewed capsule will travel 3,600 miles from Earth. (Source: NASA, 02/12/13) Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, are both involved in the Space Launch System program.

NASA readies for J-2X testing

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA's is getting ready for a new round of tests on the next-generation J-2X rocket engine that will help power the agency's Space Launch System to new destinations in the solar system. Beginning this month, engineers will conduct a series of tests on the second J-2X development engine, designated number 10002, on the A-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center. Once the series is completed, the engine will be transferred to the A-1 Test Stand to undergo a series of gimbal, or pivot, tests for the first time. NASA already has conducted successful tests on engine number 10001 and on the J-2X powerpack assembly. In total, 34 tests were conducted on the J-2X engine and powerpack, with the J-2X achieving a full flight-duration firing of 500 seconds in the eighth test, earlier than any rocket engine in U.S. history. (Source: NASA, 02/11/13) Previous

Best places award ceremony set

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – There will be a Feb. 13 presentation recognizing NASA's Stennis Space Center as one of the best places to work in the federal government. John Palguta, vice president for policy with the Partnership for Public Service, and Jeri Buchholz, assistant administrator for NASA Human Capital Management, will visit Stennis to officially recognize the center for its high ranking in the annual U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Employee Viewpoint Survey. In the survey taken by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, NASA was named the best place to work in the federal government among large agencies. The ranking reflects NASA's highest results since this index was developed. Stennis ranked second among 292 agency subcomponents. (Source: NASA, 02/07/13)

Option exercised on contract

NASA has exercised the first option under its existing contract with Science Applications International Corporation of Huntsville, Ala., to operate the NASA Enterprise Applications Competency Center (NEACC). The two-year option period for continuation of services increases the existing Enterprise Applications Service Technologies (EAST) contract by more than $69 million and provides services through Jan. 31, 2015. The NEACC provides services to operate, maintain and enhance key business and mission-supporting platforms, applications and infrastructure used across the agency. The EAST contract is administered by the NASA Shared Services Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: NASA, 02/07/13)

ATK completes SLS test

NASA and ATK completed the second in a series of development tests for NASA's Space Launch System booster program late last month at ATK's Promontory, Utah, facility. The avionics and controls test, Flight Control Test 2, included a hot fire of the fully integrated heritage thrust vector control, the new SLS booster avionics subsystem and new electronic support equipment. FCT-2 focused on replacement of heritage test equipment with new electronic support equipment. Much of the equipment replaced was designed and built during the mid- to late-1970s and was successfully used on all Space Shuttle reusable solid rocket motor (RSRM) and five segment RSRM static motor firings. (Source: ATK, 02/01/13) SLS engines will be tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Industry Day means business

Stennis Industry Days is all about doing business and making connections with federal and state agencies, contractors and businesses, not just at Stennis Space Center but around the country. This year's event will be held Feb. 27-March 1 at IP Casino Resort Spa in Biloxi. A special tour of Stennis Space Center and nearby Infinity Science Center will be available on opening day for registered attendees. (Source: MSET newsletter, 02/05/13) To register, click here.