Young to advise new tanker approach

WASHINGTON - Pentagon acquisition chief John Young said he and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will advise the next administration to take a two-step approach to the $35 billion tanker competition between Boeing and Northrop Grumman/EADS. Reuters reports it would hinge on the best-priced offer after bidders had shown an ability to meet stripped-down set of requirements. (Source: Reuters, 11/21/08). EADS wants to assemble the planes in Mobile, and Boeing wants to do so in Washington State.

Contract: American Security, $29.7M

American Security Programs, Inc., Dulles, Va., was awarded $29.7 million to exercise an option under a previously awarded security services contract. Work includes guard and non-guard services and will be performed at NSA Orlando, Fla.; CBC Gulfport, Miss.; NAS Meridian, Miss.; NWS Charleston, S.C.; NSA Athens, Ga.; NAS Atlanta, Ga.; NSA Panama City, Fla.; NAS Whiting Field, Fla.; and NAS Kingsville, Texas. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/20/08)

INFINITY science center launches

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The INFINITY Science Center broke ground Thursday on the Interstate 10 facility that's expected to draw 400,000 people a year. The center will highlight the work being done at the neighboring NASA Stennis Space Center. It will have exhibits, interactive galleries, theaters, a gift shop and cafeteria. The board is continuing a fundraising to get the final $4 million needed for the project. Plans are to open in the fall of 2010. (Source: Sun Herald, 11/21/08)

Contract: Virtual Media, $8.3M

Virtual Media Integration, Ltd., Pensacola, Fla., is being awarded an $8.3 million contract for the procurement of 5 pre-production Computed Radiography System units and up to 100 production units. The system is a portable nondestructive testing technique used for processing radiographic film. These systems will be used to inspect for defects and perform alignment measurements. Work will be performed in Pensacola. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J. is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/20/08)

Goldman picked to head Stennis

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA named Arthur E. (Gene) Goldman as the new director of John C. Stennis Space Center. The promotion of Mississippi native Goldman, the center's deputy director since October 2006, is effective immediately. He replaces Bob Cabana, who left in October to become the director of Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Stennis is NASA's primary testing ground for propulsion systems. (Source: NASA, 11/20/08)

Crosslink partners with USM

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The University of Southern Mississippi signed a lease with Missouri-based Crosslink to provide research space in the university's polymer science building. Crosslink has worked with Southern Miss polymer science researchers since 2004. Previous collaborations include projects for military applications. Crosslink and USM hold a joint patent for a corrosion-inhibiting polymer, and are working together on a "smart" aerospace composite that can alert crew of damage and initiate repair on its own. (Source: University of Southern Mississippi, 11/20/08)

J-2X hot-fire test set for 2010

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The first hot-fire test of the J-2X engine that will power the Ares I is scheduled for late summer 2010 at John C. Stennis Space Center. The Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engine recently passed a Critical Design Review in Huntsville, Ala. The CDR means the engine can proceed to full-scale fabrication and assembly in preparation for development testing. (Source: PRNewswire, 11/19/08)

EADS CASA tax break OKd

MOBILE, Ala. - EADS CASA North America, which plans to add 18 jobs at Mobile Regional Airport in a $6 million project, won abatements estimated at about $390,000. The project would include a 27,000-square-foot hangar on the east side of the airport. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/20/08)

EADS delivers sixth HC-144A

The U.S. Coast Guard has accepted the sixth HC-144A Ocean Sentry aircraft from EADS. It's among eight HC-144As ordered as part of the Coast Guard's Deepwater program. The Coast Guard plans to purchase up to 36. The HC-144A is based on EADS CASA's CN-235 transport, part of a family of twin-engine airlifters that also includes the C-295 and C-212. U.S. customer support for these aircraft is provided at EADS North America's facility at Mobile Regional Airport in Alabama. (Source: EADS North America, 11/19/08)

EADS CASA eyes expansion

MOBILE, Ala. - EADS CASA, a Spanish subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., is eyeing its facility at the Mobile Regional Airport for a $5.6 million expansion. The company is scheduled to present its plan to the Mobile Industrial Development Board Wednesday. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/19/08)

Two Stennis spinoffs highlighted

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Two technologies developed at Stennis Space Center made the list of NASA's top 50 spinoff technologies. They appear in "Spinoff: 50 Years of NASA-derived Technologies," designed to celebrate the impact of the space program on everyday life. One Stennis technology is software used to study flow components. NASA uses it to design spacecraft shapes, propulsion devices and more, and the commercial sector uses it for aircraft, auto and boating aerodynamics. The other technology is the Earth Resources Laboratory Applications software developed in 1978. Since then it's been used for processing satellite and airborne sensor imagery, and was recognized by the Space Technology Hall of Fame. (Source: NASA, 11/18/08)

Board OKs $10K month consultant

MOBILE, Ala. - Mobile Airport Authority board members voted Monday to pay former executive director Bay Haas $10,000 a month as a consultant for 19 months. The board in September announced plans to retain Haas when it hired Bill Sisson as the new chief of the authority. Haas was instrumental in EADS picking Mobile for its tanker project, and the board wants to continue to tap into Haas’ expertise and contacts. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/18/08)

Blue Angels install new boss

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Navy Blue Angels held a change of command ceremony Sunday. Cmdr. Greg McWherter is the new team leader, replacing Capt. Kevin Mannix, who has been commander of the flight demonstration team two years. McWherter of Atlanta was named commander in April. The Blue Angels are based at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 11/17/08)

INFINITY breaks ground Thursday

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - After years of anticipation, the INFINITY Science Center moves a step closer to reality Thursday with a ground breaking. The $38 million, 72,000 square-foot center is being built near the Mississippi Welcome Center at Interstate 10. It will have $10 million worth of interactive displays designed to spark interest in science and technology activities at nearby Stennis Space Center. It's expected to draw 362,000 visitors a year. (Source: Tcp, 11/17/08)

Eglin tests new Warthog capability

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - The A-10 Warthog successfully dropped a Laser Joint Directed Attack Munition, or LJDAM, adding another capability to the close air-support warplane. The GBU-54 test was conducted earlier this month. The LJDAM is effective at destroying moving targets, and gives the pilot the ability to update targeting if the target moves while the weapon is in flight. The A-10C and LJDAM will now undergo operational tests. The goal is to deploy the capability by early 2009. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 11/14/08)

F-35 crosses supersonic milestone

FORT WORTH, Texas - The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter flew supersonic for the first time this week, accelerating to Mach 1.05 - about 680 miles per hour. The test was done a full internal load of inert or "dummy" weapons on the one-hour flight. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 11/14/08). Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be home to a Joint Strike Fighter training center.

Endeavor takes off

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour lifted seven astronauts Friday night for a 15-day mission to prepare the International Space Station for a six-member crew. In the payload bay was an Italian-built cargo carrier with hardware and supplies. (Source: Aviation Week, 11/15/08) The external tanks are made at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and engines tested at Mississippi's Stennis Space Center.

Park gets restored A-6

MOBILE, Ala - A restored A-6 Intruder is the newest exhibit at Battleship Memorial Park. Acquired from the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Fla., the plane honors Mobile native Jeremiah Denton, who spent more than seven years as a POW in North Vietnam. Denton now lives in Virginia. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/15/08)

J-2X rocket passes review

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - NASA's high-performance rocket engine, the J-2X, completed a critical design review Thursday at Marshall Space Flight Center. The J-2X engine, developed by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne, is the first element of the Constellation Program to pass this design milestone. The engine will power the upper stage of the Ares I and the Earth departure stage of the Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle. Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and Stennis Space Center in Mississippi both are involved in the Constellation program. Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne has an operation at Stennis. (Source: NASA, 11/13/08)

Airport eyes new project

GULFPORT, Miss. - On the heels of an expansion and improvement project that lasted more than five years and cost more than $50 million, officials at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport now want to improve roads. The projects could begin within a few months of the December opening of the airport's new parking garage. (Source: The Sun Herald, 11/14/08)