Cygnus docks with ISS

DULLES, Va. – Orbital Science's Cygnus cargo spacecraft successfully completed its rendezvous and approach maneuvers with the International Space Station and was grappled and berthed with the station by the Expedition 37 astronaut crew earlier this morning. Cygnus was launched by Orbital's Antares rocket Sept. 18 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. Final approach to the station began at about 3:00 a.m. EDT, culminating with the station’s robotic arm grappling the spacecraft at 7:00 a.m. when it was about 10 meters away. Cygnus was then guided to its berthing port on the nadir side of the ISS’ Harmony module where its installation was completed just before 8:45 a.m. (Source: Orbital Sciences via Business Wire, 09/29/13) Cygnus is the second commercial spacecraft to dock with ISS. The SpaceX Dragon capsule was the first. The Antares engines were tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $96.3M

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Sunnyvale, Calif., was awarded a $96,287,882 modification on a previously existing contract (FA8810-13-C-0002) for Space Based Infrared Systems contractor logistics support. The contract provides for operations crew support and organizational and depot maintenance. Work will be performed at Boulder, Colo. and Buckley Air Force Base Colo., and is expected to be completed on Sept. 30, 2014. Infrared Space Systems Contracts Division, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/27/13) Note: Portions of the work on the A2100-based SBIRS satellites is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Lufthansa picks XWB engines

Lufthansa selected Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines worth $1.5 billion, including service support, to power 25 Airbus A350-900 aircraft. The airline also has options for a further 30 of the aircraft. The Trent XWB is the fastest-selling member of the Rolls-Royce Trent engine family, with more than1,400 ordered prior to its entry into service next year. Lufthansa has 60 Trent-powered Airbus A380s, A330s and A340s either in service or on order. (Source: Rolls-Royce, 09/19/13) Note: Trent engines, including the XWB, are tested at an outdoor test stand at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Third AEHF takes off

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The third in a series of secure U.S. military communications satellites successfully launched today aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The Advanced Extremely High Frequency-3 satellite faces 110 days of orbit-raising operations and 60 days of testing, according to a U.S. Air Force press release. Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif., is building six AEHF satellites under a contract worth some $9 billion. When fully deployed, the AEHF constellation will consist of four satellites in geostationary orbit and secure communications payloads hosted aboard classified satellites in polar orbit. (Source: Spacenews, 09/18/13) Note: Core propulsion system work on the AEHF satellite is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

Cygnus heads toward ISS

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. – After a one-day delay, Orbital Science's Cygnus spacecraft took off today atop an Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The commercial spacecraft is heading for the International Space Station with about 1,500 pounds of clothes, food, water and other items. The spacecraft is due to arrive early Sunday, when it will be captured by astronauts using the outpost's robotic arm. If everything goes as planned, Cygnus will be the second commercial spacecraft to dock with ISS. SpaceX's Dragon capsule was the first. (Sources: multiple, including Space.com, Washington Post, 09/18/13) Note: The Antares engines were tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

Contract: 3PSC, $34.1M

3PSC LLC, Norfolk, Va., is being awarded a $34,171,340 modification under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract to exercise a one-year option for the operation and maintenance of six oceanographic/survey U.S. Naval ships. The ships are operated for the Naval Oceanographic Office to conduct military surveys. Work will be performed worldwide, and is expected to be completed by October 2014. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/13/13) The Naval Oceanographic Office is located at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

AEHF encapsulated for launch

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. -- The third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite built by Lockheed Martin has been encapsulated into its payload fairing in preparation for a Sept. 18 liftoff aboard an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The system is the nation's only protected strategic and tactical satellite communications program. It works in concert with its predecessor, Milstar, for global coverage. Lockheed Martin is under contract to deliver six AEHF satellites and the Mission Control Segment. AEHF-1 and AEHF-2 are both in orbit and AEHF-4 is progressing on schedule. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 09/11/13) Note: Work on the AEHF core propulsion system is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

NASA to televise Orbital launch

NASA will provide live coverage of the Sept. 17 launch of Orbital Science Corp.'s cargo resupply demonstration mission to the International Space Station. Orbital is the second commercial company to send a mission to the ISS. SpaceX was the first. The company's Cygnus cargo carrier will be launched aboard Orbital's Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Cygnus will deliver about 1,300 pounds of cargo to the Expedition 37 crew aboard the space station. Rendezvous with the space station is scheduled for Sept. 22. (Source: NASA, 09/10/13) Note: The Antares first-stage is powered by twin AJ26 engines tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

SSC does what's needed for stand

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Need a massive rocket engine tested without disturbing the neighbors? Yeah, they can do that at NASA's Stennis Space Center. Need to fabricate a 7,000-pound part, or how about miles of piping? Well, sure, they can do that, too. Call it a can-do attitude at SSC, NASA’s premier rocket engine test facility since the 1960s. Work is well under way to prepare for the next big project, testing the RS-25 engines that will power the core stage of NASA's next generation Space Launch System. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor Quarterly, 09/10/13) Full quarterly

Workshop scheduled

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. -- Companies that want to learn how to do business at Stennis Space Center can attend a workshop Thursday from 8:30-9:30 a.m. at the Hancock Chamber of Commerce office. The free program will be presented by Laurie Jugan, program coordinator for the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology, and Michelle Stracener, NASA's Small Business specialist. (Source: Sun Herald, 09/06/13)

J-2X tests on A-1 end

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – A series of hotfire tests on the next generation J-2X rocket engine came to an end Thursday. The gimbal test of the Rocketdyne J-2X No. 10002 was a 330-second test fire on the A-1 test stand. Now NASA has its sights on testing the Rocketdyne RS-25. Both engines will be used with NASA's Space Launch System. The J-2X will be used on the upper stage and the RS-25 on the core stage. (Source: NASA/SSC, 09/05/13) Previous

A2100 satellite reaches milestone

The Lockheed Martin A2100 communications satellite series has reached a milestone by chalking up over 400 cumulative years of successful, in-orbit operations. The orbiting fleet consists of 45 commercial and U.S. government communication satellites equipped with over 1,500 transponders transmitting data, video and audio for operators worldwide. In addition to commercial applications, the A2100 satellite is the platform for communications programs for the U.S. government, including the Advanced Extremely High Frequency and Mobile User Objective System. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 09/03/13) Core propulsion system work on the A2100 is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

Delta IV Heavy launched

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office lifted off from Space Launch Complex-6 at 11:03 a.m. PDT today. The Delta IV Heavy configuration Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle features a center common booster core along with two strap-on common booster cores. The common booster cores are powered by RS-68 engines, and RL10 engines power the second stage. Both engines are built by Aerojet Rocketdyne. ULA constructed the Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle in Decatur, Ala. (Source: United Launch Alliance via PRNewswire, 08/28/13) Gulf Coast note: RS-68 engines are assembled and tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

NASA holding Mobile forum

MOBILE, Ala. -- Doing business with NASA will be the topic of a Sept. 4 business-to-business forum at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center. NASA and an entourage of its agencies and prime contractors will give presentation and participate in a trade show to meet with small- and medium-sized companies interested in doing business with NASA. In addition to Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., NASA also operates Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Participants in the Mobile event include representatives from 25 prime contractors looking to partner with local small businesses on federal contracts. These include: Northrop Grumman, ATK Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Teledyne Brown Engineering, Boeing and others. The agenda includes Fairhope native Todd May, manager of NASA's Space Launch System program. The event, hosted by the Mobile Area Chamber, is from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and open to area and regional businesses. The cost is $75. For more information, call 251-431-8607. (Source: Mobile Area Chamber, 08/26/13)

Exec gives SLS update

NEW ORLEANS -- By the summer of 2016 the Michoud Assembly Facility will complete construction on the massive tank that will help power NASA's new rocket, a Boeing executive said Wednesday. Gordon Bergstue, production director for Boeing, said the company is well underway, on schedule and in budget to build the core stage at the eastern New Orleans plant. The core stage is more than 200 feet tall and will store liquid hydrogen and oxygen to power four engines of the Space Launch System. Bergstue provided the update on the opening day of the New Orleans TechNOLAgy TechFest 2013, a three-day science and technology conference at the University of New Orleans. (Source: The Advocate, 08/21/13) The RS-25 engines that will power the SLS will be tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss., some 35 miles from Michoud. Previous: SSC building RS-25 test component, NASA to show off weld center, B-2 being prepped for SLS

NOAA seeks long-endurance UUV

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers are asking industry to provide a long-endurance unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to conduct ocean temperature and salinity tests. The NOAA National Data Buoy Center at Stennis Space Center last Friday issued a solicitation (NWWG9502-13-03082) for a glider able to operate over vast ocean areas for months at a time while using a minimum of electric power. (Source: Military and Aerospace Electronics, 08/21/13)

SSC to put thrusters in spacecraft

Aerojet Rocketdyne has shipped to NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss., the first set of four Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) thrusters for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-R). At SSC, Lockheed Martin will integrate the thrusters and associated power conditioning units and electrical cabling with the GOES-R spacecraft. It will then be shipped to Lockheed Martin's facility near Denver, Colo. where it will undergo final integration and testing. The completed satellite will ultimately be shipped to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., for a planned late 2015 or early 2016 launch on an Atlas V 541 expendable launch vehicle. (Source: Aerojet Rocketdyne, 08/13/13) Aerojet Rocketdyne, a GenCorp company, also has an operation at SSC.

Shuttle hangar to be reused?

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Florida on Wednesday moved forward with plans to renovate two former shuttle hangars. The board approved spending up to $4 million to overhaul Orbiter Processing Facilities 1 and 2 at Kennedy Space Center, on top of $5 million committed last year from state Department of Transportation funds. The future tenant was not identified, but is believed to be the Air Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, a reusable unmanned system that resembles a small space shuttle. Previously the Air Force confirmed studying consolidation of X-37B operations at Kennedy or the Cape. (Source: Florida Today, 08/08/13) NASA also has centers in Bay St. Louis, Miss., Stennis Space Center, and New Orleans, Michoud Assembly Facility.

Marine tech workshop set

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- The Marine Technology Society plans an Oceans In Action Workshop on Aug. 22 at NASA's Stennis Space Center. The session will focus on marine technology used by federal and state agencies, regional associations, universities and industry on the Gulf Coast to support a wide variety of issues. Updates will be presented by federal agencies, including the Naval Research Laboratory, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Applied Sciences Directorate, NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Registration is $75 for society members and $150 for non-members. For more details click here. In addition, the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology will be hosting business matchmaking sessions as part of the workshop. For more details, click here. (Sources: Marine Technology Society, MSET, 08/09/13)

Contract: SAIC, $7M

Science Applications International Corp., Virginia Beach, Va., is being awarded a $6,976,110 firm-fixed-price contract for integrated training support and execution by U.S. Fleet Forces Command, associated fleet commands and activities conducting fleet training. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Va. (53 percent); Norfolk, Va. (25 percent); San Diego, Calif. (9 percent); Fallon, Nev. (5 percent); Mayport, Fla. (3 percent); Everett, Wash. (1 percent); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (1 percent); Stennis Space Center, Miss. (1 percent); Suffolk, Va. (1 percent); Yokosuka, Japan (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2013. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(A), "Unusual and Compelling Urgency." The NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center, Norfolk, Mechanicsburg Detachment, Mechanicsburg, Pa., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/29/13)