NAVSCIATTS gets new leader

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School (NAVSCIATTS) held a change of command ceremony June 22. Cmdr. John C. Cowan relieved Cmdr. Bill Mahoney, who is retiring after nearly four years at the schoolhouse. Operating under the Special Operations Command, NAVSCIATTS trains international military students on small craft, operations, communications, weapons, maintenance, instructor development, as well as offering a strategic level course of instruction for mid-to-senior level officers from small maritime units. More than 9,000 students from 89 partner nations have graduated since 1963. (Source: NNS, 06/23/12)

Engineer gets NASA award

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- The NASA Environmental Management Division presented a 2012 Blue Marble Award for environmental excellence to Stennis Space Center engineer Bryon Maynard today. NASA Environmental Management Director James Leatherwood presented the NASA Environmental Quality Award to Maynard in recognition of his role in converting a 107,000-gallon liquid hydrogen sphere and two other tanks into offshore artificial reefs. Maynard's effort turned the tanks' scheduled demolition into a recycling project that helped to rebuild Mississippi Gulf Coast fish habitats disrupted and destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. (Source: NASA, 06/28/12)

Airbus coming to Mobile

A news conference will be held Monday in Mobile, Ala., to announce that European aircraft maker Airbus will build an assembly plant for A320neo aircraft in Alabama’s port city. Published reports say the plan calls for an investment of several hundred million dollars to assemble dozens of 150-seat jets each year at Brookley Aeroplex. Airbus president Fabrice Bregier is scheduled to announce the project at a 10 a.m. news conference at the Mobile Convention Center. (Sources: New York Times, Bloomberg via Seattle Times, Mobile Press-Register, 06/27/12) The decision greatly expands an aerospace region that stretches from New Orleans to Northwest Florida. "The entire northern gulf region will benefit from this development, including the Stennis Space Center (Miss.) and New Orleans region," said Charles Beasley, president and CEO of the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology. Airbus parent EADS had planned to build a plant at Brookley to assemble tankers for the Air Force, but Boeing won the contract in February 2011 and is building the planes in Washington state. Mobile officials continued to maintain a close relationship EADS/Airbus after the tanker loss. Mobile is also the home of an Airbus Engineering Center and military aircraft maintenance facility.

The next Austin?

The two-year-old Gulf Coast Patent Association held its summer meeting at Pensacola Beach, Fla., on Friday to explore "the economic development wheel." The meeting attracted about 30 participants from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, including patent attorneys, technology transfer professionals, angel investors and others who discussed bringing innovations to the marketplace. At least one patent attorney said he thinks there's a big future for the Gulf Coast region, pointing out how Austin, Texas, changed over the years into a booming technology center. He and others think the same thing can happen in this region. The Gulf Coast has reseaerch and development activities in a host of fields, including aerospace, marine science, advanced materials and more. The Patent Association was launched at Stennis Space Center, Miss., and has expanded to draw in members from across the Gulf Coast region. (Source: GCAC, 06/23/12) There were several participants at the meeting representing the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology.

SLS core passes review

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- The core stage of the Space Launch System has passed a major technical review. The core of the heavy-lift launch vehicle will be more than 200 feet tall. Engineers from NASA and Boeing of Huntsville presented a full set of system requirements, design concepts and production approaches to technical reviewers and the independent review board. The core is being designed and developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville and built at the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. (Source: PRNewswire, 06/21/12) Stennis Space Center, Miss., is testing engines for the Space Launch System.

Michoud team recognized

NEW ORLEANS -- NASA's Orion Program hosted an employee recognition event for the Michoud Assembly Facility Orion team members to coincide with a milestone. The NASA team has been putting the finishing touches on the first space-bound Orion capsule. They completed the Orion pathfinder weld, essentially a practice operation, in preparation for the final weld. Then the team will do final inspections before preparing the capsule for its move to Florida's Kennedy Space Center at the end of June for final assembly and checkout. NASA's unmanned Exploration Flight Test-1 is scheduled for 2014. The first Orion spacecraft will be launched atop a Delta IV rocket operated by United Launch Alliance. The mission will take Orion to an altitude of more than 3,600 miles, more than 15 times farther away from Earth than the International Space Station. (Source: NASA, 06/20/12) Stennis Space Center, Miss., tests the engines that will be used in the Space Launch System, the rocket that will be used for future Orion missions.

FAA, NASA agree on standards

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Aviation Administration and NASA signed an agreement to coordinate standards for commercial space travel of government and non-government astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station. The agencies will collaborate to provide a stable framework for the U.S. space industry, avoid conflicting requirements and multiple sets of standards, and advance both public and crew safety. (Source: NASA, 06/18/12) Stennis Space Center, Miss., tests rocket engines for commercial space flight companies.

RR breaks ground on test facility

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Rolls-Royce today broke ground on a new $50 million jet engine test facility at the company’s outdoor testing site at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in South Mississippi. When fully operational, the facility is expected to create 35 highly-skilled jobs. The Mississippi Development Authority is helping to support construction and workforce training with additional support from Hancock County. It's the company's second outdoor jet engine test facility to be built-from-the-ground-up in the U.S., and will be used to conduct research, development, crosswind, thrust reverse, cyclic and endurance tests on all Rolls-Royce civil aerospace engines. The outdoor test facility opened in October 2007 and is one of only three of its kind in the world. (Source: Rolls-Royce, 06/18/12)

Powerpack test sets record

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA's Stennis Space Center broke its own record Friday when it conducted a test on the new J-2X powerpack that lasted for 1,150 seconds, surpassing the previous record by more than a minute. For NASA the test marked a milestone step in development of a next-generation rocket engine to carry humans deeper into space than ever before. For SSC, the 19-minute, 10-second test represented the longest duration firing ever conducted in the center's A Test Complex. The powerpack is on the top of the J-2X engine and includes the gas generator, oxygen, fuel turbopumps and related ducts and valves. (Source: SSC/NASA, 06/08/12) Previous

Infinity crowd watches Venus transit

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Skywatchers gathered at Infinity Science Center Tuesday for an astronomical event that won't be seen again for 105 years. They took turns looking through two solar telescopes to see the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. The last time the celestial phenomena was visible from Earth was in 2004, but it will not be visible again until 2117. NASA's Infinity is south of Stennis Space Center along Interstate 10. (Source: Sun Herald, 06/05/12)

More muscle for SSC supercomputer

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- One of the Defense Department's most powerful supercomputer centers will more than triple its computing power this summer when it adds three new supercomputers. The more powerful Navy Department of Defense Supercomputing Resource Center will be operational in the fall, and will put South Mississippi’s supercomputing capabilities back in the world's top 100, according to the deputy/technical director of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. The Navy DSRC is one of five DoD supercomputer centers that Navy, Army and Air Force scientists and researchers use to design new aircraft, ships and military equipment; model and simulate weather and oceand conditions; and for a wide range of other DoD missions. (Source: NNS, 06/01/12)

Dragon ends successful mission

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down Thursday in the Pacific after a successful cargo mission to the International Space Station. The historic nine-day mission, the first privately owned and operated spacecraft to dock with the ISS, has ushered in what is expected to be a highly competitive field of private space flight. The capsule splashed down west of Baja California. It delivered cargo to the ISS and brought back cargo that will be turned over to NASA. SpaceX is short for Space Exploration Technologies, based in Hawthorne, Calif. (Sources: multiple, including Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, CNET, 05/31/12) Stennis Space Center, Miss., is testing rocket engines for other companies planning commercial space flights.

Brown to lead command

Capt. Brian B. Brown, who has been selected for the rank of rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Stennis Space Center, Miss. Brown is currently serving as executive assistant to the director, Oceanography, Space, and Maritime Domain Awareness, N2/N6E, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. (Source: DoD, 05/29/12) Before he was assigned to Washington D.C., post in 2011, Brown headed the Naval Oceanographic Office at SSC.

Lockheed delivers SBIRS core

SBIRS core. Lockheed photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Lockheed Martin received the core structure for the U.S. Air Force's fourth Space Based Infrared System geosynchronous satellite. SBIRS delivers improved missile warning capabilities, while simultaneously providing intelligence and battlespace awareness missions. The structure was delivered to Lockheed Martin's Mississippi Space and Technology Center, where engineers and technicians will integrate the spacecraft's propulsion subsystem, essential for maneuvering the satellite during transfer orbit to its final location and conducting on-orbit repositioning maneuvers throughout its mission life. The integrated core propulsion module will then be shipped to Sunnyvale, Calif., for final assembly, integration and test. SBIRS GEO-4 is on schedule to be available for launch in 2015. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 05/24/12)

J-2X marks first in test

J-2X marks a first at SSC. NASA/SSC photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- A J-2X engine that will eventually be used in the NASA Space Launch System had a 40-second test on the A-2 Test Stand Friday. For the first time, test conductors fired the J-2X in both the secondary and primary modes of operation, 20 seconds in each. Previous tests were run in one mode only; combining the two allowed operators to collect critical data on engine performance. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is developing the J-2X engine for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. (Source: NASA/SSC, 05/25/12)

ISS captures Dragon

The cargo-carrying spacecraft Dragon successfully hooked up to the International Space Station Friday. It’s a major first for a commercial space ventures. SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule was captured by the space station's robotic arm by astronaut Don Pettit aboard the space station. The linkup took place about 250 miles above Australia. (Sources: multiple, 05/25/12)

SpaceX launches rocket

Falcon 9 lift off. SpaceX photo

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The SpaceX rocket launched Tuesday from a pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for a cargo mission to the International Space Station. Falcon 9 lifted the Dragon capsule at 3:44 a.m. Eastern Time. Before docking with the ISS, the capsule will undergo a series of tests to determine if the vehicle is ready to berth with the station. (Sources: multiple, 05/22/12) Stennis Space Center, Miss., tests rocket engines for other private companies involved in space flight.

Delta IV stage eyed for Orion test

NASA plans to use a modified Delta IV second stage atop an early version of the Space Launch System for the unmanned Orion test flight in 2017, as well as for the manned flight four years later. In a May 3 procurement notice, NASA said the Boeing-designed Delta IV second stage is the only means available to support the immediate propulsion needs, and it’s the only one that requires relatively minor modifications to launch astronauts by 2021. (Source: Florida Today, 05/16/12; NASA procurement notice, 05/03/12) The SLS first stage will use RD-25 engines tested at Stennis Space Center.

May Lagniappe newsletter available

The May issue of Lagniappe, the monthly newsletters about activities at Stennis Space Center, Miss., is available for download. The issue includes an item about the Administrator's Cup award given to SSC; an item about NASA Administrator Charles Bolden's visit to the E-1 test stand where Blue Origin's BE-3 will be tested; a feature on the harvest of lettuce at Infinity, and more. (Source: Lagniappe, May 2012)

May Messenger newsletter available

The May issue of Michoud Messenger, a monthly newsletter about activities at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, is available for download. The issue includes an item about employee awards for volunteer service; an update on an April test of the Capsule Parachute Assembly System built at Michoud; an item on a safety stand down; the visit by NASA Chief of Staff Daniel Radzanowski, and more. (Source: Michoud Messenger, May 2012)