WASHINGTON - NASA signed a five-year, $45 million contract Thursday with American Tank and Vessel Inc. of Mobile, Ala., for installation of a test cell diffuser and associated systems in the A-3 test stand at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The stand will test the J-2X engine that will power the upper stage of the Ares I crew exploration vehicle and the Earth departure stage of the Ares V cargo launch vehicle. Construction began on the A-3 stand in summer 2007, with the first test scheduled for 2012. The structure is the first large test stand to be built since the south Mississippi site was established in the 1960s. (Source: NASA, 02/19/09)
