KSC takes on new role

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Work is ramping up at the Orion spacecraft facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., expanding the spaceport's role beyond launch operations to include final assembly. Tooling to assemble the spacecraft is being put in place in the renovated high bay, first erected for the Apollo project. About 260 people already work on Orion at KSC. The number will increase to about 400 by June in preparations for the first flight test in early 2014. (Source: Florida Today, 01/07/12) Gulf Coast note: Technicians at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, are putting the finishing touches on the second Orion capsule, and will also be doing work on portions of the Space Launch System. "Orion will use MAF for construction of the crew module and other portions. KSC will be used for final assembly of the entire spacecraft," said Jennifer Morcone Stanfield, public affairs officer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.