RR wins $5B order

Rolls-Royce won a $5 billion order for Trent engines to power 50 new Airbus planes ordered by Delta Air Lines. Trent XWB engines will power 25 Airbus A350s and Trent 7000 engines will power 25 Airbus A330neo aircraft. Rolls Royce is the only supplier of engines for both aircraft. The Trent XWB will power the first A350 XWB into service later this year. (Sources: Rolls-Royce, 11/20/14, Reuters, 11/21/14) Note: Rolls-Royce tests Trent engines at its outdoor test facility at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Airbus to supply Orion module

Airbus Group will develop and build a service module for the U.S. space capsule, Orion, the first marking the first time a European firm will provide system-critical elements for a U.S. space project. Airbus Defense and Space, Europe's largest aerospace group, said the contract signed with the European Space Agency is worth around $488 million. The service module will provide propulsion, power supply, thermal control and the central elements of the life support system of the capsule designed for deep space missions. The module is based on the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) developed and constructed by Airbus on behalf of ESA as a supply craft for the International Space Station. (Source: multiple, including Reuters, 11/17/14, Space Daily, 11/18/14) Note: The first space-bound Orion, slated to launch next month atop a Delta IV, was built at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans. The Delta IV's RS-68 engines were tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss.; Future Orion launches will be aboard NASA's massive Space Launch System, being built in part at Michoud Assembly Facility. The SLS's RS-25 engines will be tested at Stennis Space Center; Airbus is building an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala., where it also has an engineering center and an Airbus Military operation.

Consortium meeting set

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- The next general meeting of the Stennis Business Consortium is scheduled for Nov. 18 at 1:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the StenniSphere, Building 1200, at Stennis Space Center. There is no cost for the event, but registration is required. The meeting will focus on resource business providers -- those nonprofit organizations that can help businesses take the next step. Contact Laurie Jugan 228-688-1192 or ssc-mset@mail.nasa.gov for more information. (Source: MSET, November 2014)

MSET leadership changes

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – Long-time CEO and president of Mississippi Enterprise for Technology, Charlie Beasley, is leaving the post to join the economic development team at Mississippi Power. Returning to MSET to take over as interim chief will be Greg Hinkebein, who headed the agency from February 1999 until his retirement in September 2008. Beasley began working at MSET in April 1999 and became CEO when Hinkebein retired. The change is effective next week. MSET is the business connection at NASA's Stennis Space Center and the SSC connection for the business community. It provides business and facilities services including a technology incubator, marine technology industry cluster program and technology transfer and contracting programs with federal agencies. (Source: MSET, 11/07/14)

Orbital: Antares ditching AJ26?

Orbital Sciences Corp. has decided it likely will discontinue using the Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ26 engine to power future Antares space launch vehicles. The company said today that preliminary review of the date from last week's explosion of an Antares rocket after liftoff from Wallops Island, Va., indicates a probable turbopump-related failure in one of the two AJ26 engine. Orbital said it still plans to fulfill its contract commitments to NASA to resupply the International Space Station through one or two non-Antares launches of the company's Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS in 2015-2016. Orbital Sciences said it plans an early introduction of a previously selected Antares engine upgrade in 2016. (Source: Orbital Sciences via Business Wire, 11/05/14) Note: Aerojet tests the AJ26 engine at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

RR shedding jobs, most in UK

Rolls-Royce will shed 2,600 jobs over the next 18 months, part of an intensified program to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs. The company said in a news release Tuesday that the cuts will come principally in the aerospace division and the majority of the reductions will be achieved in 2015, the company said. (Source: Rolls-Royce, 11/04/14) A company spokesman said through an email inquiry that he could not specify where cuts would occur, but said a union said it expects two-thirds of the cuts to be in the U.K. The company has 55,200 workers globally and 8,500 in the United States. Rolls-Royce has an engine test facility at Stennis Space Center, Miss.