MAF to build LNG tanks

NEW ORLEANS -- Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin said Tuesday it will build two liquefied natural gas tanks at the Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans, adding 400 jobs. Each 88-foot-long tank, designed to carry 295,000 cubic meters of liquid gas, will serve as fuel tanks for propulsion engines built by the Finnish company Wartsila, Lockheed President Gerry Fasano said. Those engines are built to power commercial transport ships. Fasano added that the two companies are discussing contracts to build another six tanks of various sizes at Michoud that could serve as storage tanks to transport gas overseas. MAF is also used by the British company Blade Dynamics to build wind turbine blades, and more recently, Sierra Nevada Corp. said it had partnered with Lockheed Martin to build structures for the Dream Chaser commercial space vehicle. MAF is also where Orion and the core stage of the Space Launch System are being built. (Source: Times-Picayune, NASA, 03/12/13)