Test begins on third AEHF

The third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite has begun transmitting using its protected communications payload, joining two other satellites undergoing system test in orbit with a suite of user terminals. AEHF satellites are produced by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Air Force. Launched on Sept. 18, 2013, AEHF-3 arrived in its final orbit position and began transmissions in January. Core propulsion system work on the AEHF is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: SpaceWar.com, 03/31/14) Previous

Engine tests brought to schools

LONG BEACH, Miss. – Stennis Space Center, NASA's premiere rocket engine test facility, launched a program Wednesday to beam engine tests into some schools in Mississippi and Louisiana. The program will use technology that will allow students to watch a live stream of engine testing at Stennis, including the J-2X, an engine that's part of NASA's Space Launch System program. Through the virtual visit, NASA scientists and engineers will also appear on the screen to answer student's questions. (Source: WLOX-TV, 03/26/14)

White House honors IMRI chief

IMRI President and CEO Martha Daniel and nine other female veterans were honored by the White House Tuesday as "champions of change." The event honored women veteran industry leaders, highlighting their contributions to the nation's business, public and community service sectors. Daniel started her career four decades ago as a Navy cryptologist, and in 1992 founded Information Management Resources Inc. (IMRI). She oversees more than 70 employees at four offices from Southern California to Mississippi's Stennis Space Center and Washington D.C. IMRI is a Mississippi Enterprise for Technology client company. (Sources: IMRI, 03/24/14, WKCAL-News, 03/23/14, MSET)

Orion test flight delayed

The first test flight of NASA's Orion crew exploration vehicle has been delayed to early December to accommodate a U.S. military payload in United Launch Alliance's Delta 4 launch manifest. The unmanned Orion test flight was scheduled for launch in September or October aboard a Delta 4-Heavy rocket, the most powerful launcher in the U.S. fleet. Orion is designed to carry astronauts on expeditions beyond low Earth orbit aboard the Space Launch System, a government-owned heavy-lift launcher set to debut by the end of 2017. The Orion test flight, known as Exploration Flight Test-1, will prove many of the spacecraft's key systems, including the capsule's 16.4-foot-diameter ablative heat shield. The first crewed Orion mission is scheduled for launch on the second Space Launch System flight in 2021. (Source: Spaceflight Now, 03/15/14) Stennis Space Center, Miss., tests engines for the SLS; Orion and the core stage of SLS are built at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans.

Cochran wants NCCIPS assurances

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., during a  heaering sought confirmation that the Department of Homeland Security is committed to programs that promote cost savings. Cochran specifically pointing to the data center consolidation project at Stennis Space Center (SSC), Miss. The Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee was holding a hearing on the president's FY2015 budget request for the Homeland Security Department when the issue came up. Cochran said DHS has led the federal government in finding cost savings through the consolidation of data centers, notably the National Center for Critical Information Processing and Storage (NCCIPS) at SSC. He sought assurances DHS is committed to moving forward. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said he believes Congress has provided sufficient funding to complete the consolidation project at Stennis. Developed over the past decade, the NCCIPS is the primary DHS data center for the initial consolidation of federal data assets. The project is already resulting in annual savings of $17.0 million and could save an estimated $3.0 billion by 2030, according to Cochran. The U.S. Navy, the departments of Transportation and Veterans Affairs and other agencies have chosen to locate critical assets at NCCIPPS. (Source: Mississippi Business Journal, 03/14/14)

NGI partners with Mexico researchers

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- A research consortium led by Mississippi State University has partnered with a group of institutions in Mexico to advance the study of the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem. The Northern Gulf Institute and the Consorcio de Instituciones de Investigación Marina del Golfo de México (CiiMar-GoM) signed a memorandum of agreement to support joint research activities of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and other organizations and governmental agencies with an interest in research and educational programs for the Gulf of Mexico region. Headquartered at the MSU Science and Technology Center at Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, NGI is a NOAA cooperative institute whose members include the University of Southern Mississippi, Louisiana State University, Florida State University, Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory and MSU. In addition, NGI has an agreement with the Harte Research Institute of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to support joint research activities. (Source: NGI, 03/14/14)

NASA picks tech proposals

NASA has selected 108 research and technology proposals from U.S. small businesses that will enable NASA's future missions while benefiting America's high technology-driven economy on Earth. The selected proposals now will enter into negotiations for contract awards as part of Phase II of the agency's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The selected aerospace technology and innovation projects have a total value of some $87 million, supporting 99 U.S. firms in 26 states. Two selected proposals involve technology being administered by the Office of the Chief Technologist at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: NASA/Stennis, 03/10/14)

NASA budget released

WASHINGTON — NASA's $17.5 billion proposed budget for fiscal 2015 released Tuesday provides funding for NASA's top priorities. It includes $2.8 billion for the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion multi-purpose vehicle; $848 million for the Commercial Crew Program that helps fund private efforts to sent astronauts to the International Space Station; and $3.05 billion to run the ISS, including money for continued cargo shipments by SpaceX and Orbital Science. Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, are involved in those programs. The budget also would ramp up funding to fly astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 as part of a steppingstone approach to Mars. The budget is some $190 million below the fiscal 2014 level. Fiscal 2015 begins Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30, 2015. (Source: multiple, including USAToday, Space.com, 03/04/14)

QinetiQ wins ONR contract

RESTON, Va. -- QinetiQ North America announced it was awarded a prime contract to provide engineering, technical, programmatic and financial support services for the Office of Naval Research's Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare and Combating Terrorism Department. This cost-plus fixed fee contract is valued at about $16 million over five years. ONR's mission is coordinating, executing, and promoting science and technology programs for the Navy and Marine Corps. (Source: PRWEB, 03/04/14) Note: QinetiQ has an office at Stennis Space Center, Miss., which is also the location of one of the Office of Naval Research's Naval Research Labs.