Florida gets key Boeing program office

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - Boeing said Monday that it plans to consolidate its Commercial Crew program office, manufacturing and operations at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Boeing, in partnership with Space Florida, will use the Orbiter Processing Facility-3 to manufacture, assemble, and test the company's Crew Space Transportation spacecraft. The 15-year use permit with Space Florida is the latest step Kennedy is making as the center transitions from a historically government-only launch complex to a multi-user spaceport. (Sources: multiple, including PRNewswire, Brevard Times, 10/31/11) Gulf Coast note: Boeing has multiple operations in the Gulf Coast; NASA operates facilities at Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans.

GE Aviation breaks ground in Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. - GE Aviation is breaking ground on a 300,000 square-foot advanced manufacturing plant in Auburn, Ala. It will produce precision, super-alloy machined parts for GE jet engines that will power future commercial and military aircraft, and also to support the fleet of GE jet engines already in service. Site construction is set to begin Monday and the facility is scheduled to open in 2012. Auburn was selected in part because of its access to skilled workforce and proximity to Alabama's university system. (Source: GE Aviation via PRNewswire, 10/31/11) Gulf Coast note: GE Aviation is also building a composite parts plant in Hattiesburg, Miss., and operates another engine parts facility in Batesville, Miss.

Sixth F-35 now at Eglin

AF-13, a conventional takeoff and landing variant F-35A, has been delivered to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The plane departed Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base Wednesday for delivery to the 33rd Fighter Wing. The plane, piloted by Marine Corps Maj. Joseph Bachmann, touched down at 11:44 a.m. after a 90-minute ferry flight. AF-13 is the sixth F-35A delivered to Eglin, where it will be used for pilot and maintainer training at the base's new F-35 Integrated Training Center. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 10/27/11)

ORI results good for wing

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - The 96th Air Base Wing received good news about the Operational Readiness Inspection. The ORI by the Air Force Material Command was the culmination of more than six months of preparation in four major graded areas. The units were scored using a five-tier rating scale. The ratings in specific areas cannot be released, but the wing received overall results of excellent for positioning the force, employing the force, sustaining the force and the ability to survive and operate. Col. Sal Nodjomian, commander of the wing, said the inspectors reported they have never seen a wing sweep every graded category. (Source: 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, 10/28/11)

Aircrews drop hammer in exercise

U.S. Air Force photo

ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. - Aircrews from the 37th Bomb Squadron employed two Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles from a pair of B-1 bombers at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., as part of the Air Force's air to ground Weapon System Evaluation Program known as Combat Hammer. The goal of the Oct. 25 exercise, managed by the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is to evaluate the effectiveness, maintainability, suitability, and accuracy of precision guided munitions and other advanced air to ground weapons. (Source: 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs, 10/27/11)

CSC to continue NSSC work

CSC has received a $41 million modification that exercises the second option period for the NASA Shared Services Center contract at Stennis Space Center, Miss. The contract modification applies to the contract NASA awarded CSC in 2005. CSC will continue to provide financial management, human resources, procurement and information technology support services to NASA. The NSSC is a cooperative partnership between NASA, CSC and the States of Mississippi and Louisiana. The NSSC performs selected business activities for all 10 NASA centers. (Source: Business Wire, 10/27/11)

Airport opens new concourse

NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans' airport unveiled the expansion to Concourse D on Thursday. The $27 million expansion at Louis Armstrong International Airport includes six new gates and a pyramid-shaped central skylight. (Source: Times-Picayune, 10/27/11)

Drone in a drone

InsideDefense reports that researchers from the Naval Air Systems Command, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and Navmar Applied Science Corp. are working on a micro-UAV designed to be carried in another drone. The armed, electric drone would detach from a 13-foot TigerShark and relay real-time video to ground support as it heads for the target. Researchers at Eglin were working on the micro-UAV as part of the Precision Acquisition and Weaponized System when the U.S. Special Operations Command said it needed a weapon that would minimize collateral damage. NAVAIR started working on the effort to integrate the micro-UAV with the TigerShark surveillance drone. A $12 million design and assembly effort is supposed to be done in the spring of 2012. After that comes testing at Eglin and at the Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. (Source: InsideDefense, Wired News, 10/27/11)

Contract: L-3 Vertex, $26.3M

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $26,344,361 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract to exercise an option for organizational, selected intermediate, and limited depot level maintenance for F-16, F-18, H-60, and E-2C aircraft operated by the adversary squadrons based at Naval Air Station, Fallon, Nev. Work will be performed in Fallon, Nev., and is expected to be completed in October 2012. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/27/11)

Partner progress report released

NASA's industry partners continue to meet established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities that will ferry U.S. astronauts to and from the International Space Station, according to NASA’s third status report. NASA will rely on private industry to transport cargo and crew to the International Space Station, while NASA focuses on deep space exploration. NASA has posted the third status report on its Commercial Crew Development 2 (CCDev2) program to the agency's Commercial Space Transportation website. (Source: NASA, 10/25/11) Gulf Coast note: The region is home to Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans.

Passenger counts up

With one exception, airports in Northwest Florida experienced higher passenger counts this September over the previous year. The busiest was Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport, with 121,409 passengers in September, up less than 1 percent, followed by Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City, with 73,470 passengers in September, up 8.1 percent. The airport in Okaloosa County, Northwest Florida Regional Airport, had 66,258 passengers in September, an increase of 10.4 percent. Tallahassee Regional Airport had 50,025, a 5.2 percent drop. (Source: Walton Sun, 10/26/11)

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $119.7M

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Northrop Grumman Information Systems, Herndon, Va., is being awarded an $119,715,682 cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for the design, development, test, and deployment of Increment 10.2, modernization of the Air and Space Operations Center Weapon System. Increment 10.2 is intended to bring net-centric capabilities to the Geographic Air and Space Operations Center Weapons Systems, allowing data to flow seamlessly across various platforms and process workflows rather than being locked in separate information technology system "silos" to be accessed and retransmitted by humans. Increment 10.2 capabilities will be fielded to the Geographic Air and Space Operations Centers; a help desk at Langley Air Force Base, Va.; and the Formal Training Unit at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Electronic Systems Center (ESC/HSGK), Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/26/11)

Contract: L3, $21.3M

L3 Communications Corp., Systems Field Support, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $21,296,938 firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursable, no-fee contract modification for contractor logistics support for the C-12 aircraft for Pacific Air Forces, Air Force Materiel Command, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and Defense Security Cooperation Agency, consisting of maintenance, repair, and support functions for one year from Nov. 1, 2011, through Oct. 31, 2012. The location of performance is L3 Communications, Systems Field Support, Madison, Miss. Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC/GKSKH), Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/26/11)

Contract: Gulfport Aviatn Ptnrs, $6.6M

Gulfport Aviation Partners LLC, Houston, Texas, was awarded a fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for a maximum $6,603,727 for jet fuel. Other location of performance is Gulfport Biloxi International Airport, Gulfport, Miss. Using service is Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2015. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/25/11)

Wasp concludes JSF testing

U.S. Navy photo

Amphibious assault ship USS Wasp returned to Naval Station Norfolk Oct. 21 after spending three weeks at sea hosting the initial sea trials of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. The first F-35B landed on WASP's flight deck Oct. 3, beginning an 18-day test period. During the testing, two F-35B Marine Corps test jets accomplished vertical landings and short take-offs under various conditions. While underway, the world's first supersonic short take-off, vertical landing fighter logged more than 28 hours of flight time and completed 72 short take-offs and 72 vertical landings. (Source: NNS, 10/25/11) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the JSF training center, where training will be done on all variants of the F-35.

NASA tries to find room for SLS in budget

NASA will store some rocket engines, slow work on others and study still more as it tries to fit the Space Launch System into a $3 billion annual budget for development. Early flights of the SLS will use surplus space shuttle main engines and, as side-mounted strap-ons, the five-segment solid-fuel motors developed for the terminated Ares I crew launch vehicle's first stage. The J-2X upper-stage engine will be slowed as managers try to maintain enough development momentum to avoid a costly stop and restart in engine development as the big new rocket evolves. (Source: Aviation Week, 10/24/11) Gulf Coast note: Stennis Space Center, Miss., is where space shuttle main engines were tested and where the J-2X is being assembled and tested. Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, is where portions of the SLS will be built.

Million Air facility opens this week

GULFPORT, Miss. – The $12 million, 52,500-square-foot Million Air facility officially opens at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport this week. It will serve as the fixed base operation at the airport, providing fuel, support services for charters and private planes and other services. Company and airport officials expect the operation to boost the revenue base at the airport and the region by more than $10 million with fuel and activity fees and increase the casino customer base by up to 25 percent. (Source: Sun Herald, 10/24/11)

Contract: Boeing, $11.1M

The Boeing Co., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is being awarded an $11,129,648 firm-fixed-price contract for spares and will provide five major subassemblies required to build-up six AC-130U 25 mm ammunition storage handling systems assemblies. These subassemblies are conveyor assembly, loader/downloader, magazine transfer unit, magazine driver gearbox, and the gun drive gearbox. Air Force Global Logistics Support Center, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/24/11)

Resolution honors SSC

The U.S. Senate Friday approved a resolution sponsored by senators from Mississippi and Louisiana honoring the 50th anniversary of the John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss., and its economic impact on the region. The testing facility in Hancock County was established in 1961 and today is home to more than 30 federal organizations, including the biggest tenant, the Navy. It will continue to play a role as the test site for NASA programs and commercial ventures. (Source: Sun Herald, 10/23/11)

AF to become landlord

Under an "enhanced lease program" designed to let the Air Force collect rent on an under-used portion of beachfront land, the military next year will become landlord of a hotel, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. "This will be a new way of doing business for us," said Glenn Wagner, manager of Eglin Air Force Base's enhanced lease program. The $24 million hotel near Sheraton Four Points will be owned by the Department of Defense and managed by Emerald Breeze Resort Group. Eglin's 46th Test Wing will be able to place a telemetric receiving dish and optical equipment on the top of the building so it can "see" further out into the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 10/23/11)