Atlantis crew to visit SSC

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Six members of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-132 crew will visit NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center Thursday to thank employees for their part in a safe mission to the International Space Station in May. The mission was the last scheduled flight for the Atlantis shuttle, which will be prepared to serve as an emergency backup craft for the final two shuttle missions. Atlantis'12-day mission carried the Russian Rassvet Mini-Research Module-1 to the ISS. Atlantis also was the first shuttle to dock to the Russian Space Station Mir. It traveled to the ISS 11 times. (Source: NASA, 06/14/10)

Contract: McDonnell, $98M

McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $98,000,000 contract which will provide a five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity basic contract for the production of the Small Diameter Bomb I weapon system for various Foreign Military Sales customers aircraft platforms throughout the life of the contract. At this time, no money has been obligated. 680 ARSSG/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/11/10)

Shuttle crew visits SSC

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Members of the STS-134 space shuttle mission crew addressed employees at the foot of the A-2 Test Stand during a visit to NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center today. The crew members were Commander Mark Kelly, Mission Specialist Mike Fincke, Pilot Greg Johnson, Mission Specialist Greg Chamitoff, European Space Agency Mission Specialist Roberto Vittori and Mission Specialist Andrew Feustel. The flight of Endeavour will be in November. (Source: NASA, 06/11/10)

EADS moving people to Mobile

EADS North America will transfer to Mobile, Ala., later this month 100 workers as it prepares to bid on the Air Force tanker project. The Mobile Press-Register reports that the company leased office space at Bel Air Mall to house employees now located in Arlington, Va., and Melbourne, Fla. EADS and rival Boeing plan to bid on the $40 billion contract. EADS, which already has operations in Mobile, wants to assemble the KC-45 at Brookley Industrial Complex. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 06/11/10)

NASA picks 18 projects

NASA picked 18 projects for Phase II funding under the Small Business Technology Transfer program. Eighteen businesses are partnered with 15 universities in projects valued at $11 million. In a project of interest to NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss., Combustion Research and Flow Technology of Pipersville, Pa., is teamed with the University of Florida to develop simulation software to predict potential damage to a propulsion system and test stands that can be caused by vibrations of liquid rockets. Mississippi State University is involved in two winning projects. In one, it's working with Keystone Synergistic Enterprises of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., on a process to solid-state weld high strength and temperature alloys used to make engine nozzel skirts. MSU is also working with Streamline Numerics of Gainesville, Fla., on an advanced simulation framework for design and analysis of space propulsion systems. (Source: Tcp, based on NASA release, 06/09/10)

Contract: R.C. Construction, $37.6M

R.C. Construction Co. Inc., Greenwood, Miss., was awarded a $37,517,930 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a new taxiway extension to include expansion joints, sealants, lighting, etc.; a new aircraft parking apron to include expansion joints, lighting, electrical, communications, etc.; and a new load area to include expansion joints, lighting, electrical, communications, etc. The project will also include a load crew shelter, flare facility, and a munitions holding area. Work is to be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., with an estimated completion date of July 15, 2011. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/09/10)

Contract: L3, $9.2M

L3 Communications Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $9,246,999 time-and-material contract for logistical support in the areas of aircraft workers, aircraft painters, and other areas. Work is to be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas, with an estimated completion date of July 26, 2010. Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus, Christi, Texas, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/09/10)

GRIP experiment on track

NASA's unmanned Global Hawk aircraft completed four science flights over the Pacific Ocean in April in a joint project between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and plans are on track to use the UAV later this year to track hurricanes in the Atlantic. In the Global Hawk Pacific (GloPac) mission, a Global Hawk fitted with 11 science instruments acquired and transmitted data that has never before been accessible through either manned flights or satellites. Flights reached up to 65,000 feet where information was collected from the air as well as the water and polar ice below. Later this year, NASA Global Hawk will examine hurricanes and their formation process to explore the possibility of improving hurricane forecasts in the GRIP experiment. (Source: Northrop Grumman via Globe Newswire, 06/09/10) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are built in part in Moss Point, Miss. Background on GRIP.

Put your face in space

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA is inviting members of the public to send an electronic image of their faces into orbit aboard one of the final remaining space shuttle missions. Visitors to the "Face in Space" Web site can upload a portrait to fly astronauts aboard shuttle Discovery’s STS-133 mission or shuttle Endeavour’s STS-134 mission. Participants will receive special certificates once the mission is completed. Visit http://faceinspace.nasa.gov/ to submit an image. Those without a picture can skip the image upload and NASA will fly their name. (Source: NASA, 06/08/10)

Contract: Sunrise, $59.5M

Sunrise Beach Corp., Allen, Texas, was awarded a $59,471,900 fixed-price-labor hours for aircraft paint and maintenance services for the 1108th Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot for the Mississippi Army National Guard at Gulfport, Miss. Fifty-seven percent of the work will be done in Gulfport, with the remainder done in Birmingham, Ala., Salisbury, N.C., Eastover, S.C., Frankfort, Ky., Smyrna, Tenn., Brooksville, Fla., Jackson, Tenn., Saint Croix, Virgin Islands, Dobbins, Ga., Fort Rucker, Ala., Hope Hull, Ala., and Mobile, Ala., with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2015. National Guard Bureau, U.S. Property and Fiscal Office for Mississippi, Jackson, Miss., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/08/10)

Contract: Raytheon, $17.6M

Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $17,619,018 contract which will provide for the electronic protection improvement program. At this time, $2,114,605 has been obligated. 696 ARSS/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/08/10)

STS-134 crew to visit SSC

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The six crew members of the last scheduled space shuttle mission will visit NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center this week. The shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station, and is slated to launch in November. Visiting on Friday will be Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Greg Johnson, Mission Specialists Greg Chamitoff, Drew Feustel, Mike Fincke and European Space Agency Specialist Roberto Vittori. Shuttle crew traditionally visit NASA centers instrumental to the missions. Stennis has tested all of the main engines used on space shuttle missions. (Source: NASA, 06/08/10)

Navy F-35 makes first flight

FORT WORTH, Texas - The Navy version of the F-35 made its inaugural flight Sunday. The carrier variant took off from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base and logged a 57-minute flight. Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with principal industrial partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. (Source: Lockheed Martin via PRNewswire, 06/07/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be the initial JSF training center.

Space-X rocket takes off

The Falcon 9, first of a new generation of private rockets, successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Friday. The 180-foot Space-X rocket put a model of its Dragon capsule into orbit about 160 miles up, setting the stage for possible flights to the international space station early next year. The flight came after an initial abort right at ignition. The launch was important to the Obama administration, which has proposed a far greater role for commercial space companies in the future of NASA. SpaceX plans to send a fully operational rocket and capsule into orbit later this summer and one to the space station next year. (Source: Washington Post, 06/04/10) Gulf Coast note: Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and Stennis Space Center, Miss., are both involved in NASA programs.

AMDS gets F-35 school AV work

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Advanced Media Design Systems was recently awarded the audio visual component of the Joint Strike Fighter Air Force/Navy/Marine Squad Ops at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. AMDS will be renovating a hanger including over 45 rooms with new AV control systems and equipment. The Joint Strike Fighter School is expected to be completed in early October 2010. The training facility is expected to instruct over 500 F-35 pilots a year from the Air Force, Navy, Marines and at least eight other countries. (Source: PR.com, 06/04/10)

Name changes coming

Thirty-five units at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be getting name changes. Air Force Materiel Command officials notified commanders last month that headquarters approved converting the command structure from wings, groups and squadrons to directorates, divisions and branches. The target date is June 30. At Eglin, the 308th Armament Systems Wing will be impacted the most with all of its units undergoing a name change. The Air Force decided to standardize the size of wings, groups and squadrons across the Air Force. Wings now must contain 1,000 or more members, groups 400 and squadrons 35. As a result, many wings, groups, and squadrons at AFMC Centers will be inactivated, and replaced by new directorates, divisions and branches, which do not have mandatory minimum manning thresholds. (Source: Materiel Command, 06/02/10)

AF homeland defense ORI held

GULFPORT, Miss. - Three units representing each component of the Air Force made history last month when they completed the first homeland defense operational readiness inspection. Held at the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center, the ORI marked the first time the Air Force validated a unit's capability to defend the homeland by fighting an enemy on U.S. soil. Like other ORIs, this one tested the ability of each unit to mobilize, fly to a remote site, defend against enemy attacks and redeploy back home. Unlike traditional ORIs, in this one participants were tasked with supporting civil authorities while fighting an unconventional foe. The 123rd Airlift Wing from Kentucky represented the Air National Guard, the 317th Airlift Group from Texas provided active-duty forces and the 70th Aerial Port Squadron from Florida contributed Air Force Reserve. The ORI was May 16 through 23. (Source: AFNS, 06/01/10)

A new way of training

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - The first F-35 mission rehearsal trainer recently arrived at the 33rd Fighter Wing. It replicates the cockpit of an F-35, and is a containerized, forward-deployable version of the full mission simulator slated to arrive late this year. The trainer is one of many new technologies the three U.S. military services and eight partner nations purchasing the Joint Strike Fighter will be using. From their arrival at the 33rd Academic Training Center, students will interact with the latest technology, receiving laptops instead of books. The training will be a far cry from the traditional training methods using chalk boards, stacks of books, poster-sized visual aids and cockpit mock-ups. When the wing reaches full strength in 2014, it will train Air Force, Marine, Navy and international partner operators and maintainers of the F-35 Lightning II. (Source: Eglin PAO, 06/02/10)

Graduation ceremony marks recovery

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. - Thirty-two physicians and dentists graduate from 81st Medical Group internship and residency training next week. It marks Keesler's first internal medicine residency graduating class since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the culmination of five years of dealing with infrastructure challenges and rebuilding teaching faculty in the wake of the hurricane. Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Charles Green will deliver the commencement address at the graduation, scheduled for 2 p.m. June 10 in Keesler Hospital's Don Wylie Auditorium. (Source: 81stMG, 06/02/10)

Bases vie for F-35

The Lockheed-Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is behind schedule, billions over budget and the roar of its jet engine could eclipse the older planes it will replace. Still, 11 bases in seven states are hoping to convince the Pentagon to choose them to house the plane. The first round of selections is slated for 2011. (Source: AP via Google, 05/31/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is already scheduled to become a joint training center. Tyndall Air Force Base, near Panama City, Fla., hopes to get some of the jets.