John C. Stennis Space Center

Buffer Zone 13,800 Acre Fee Area 125,000 Acre Buffer Zone NASA’s Stennis Space Center is located in Hancock County in south Mississippi along the banks of the Pearl River. The center’s work is accomplished in a 13,800 acre area known as the “fee area,” an area of land owned by NASA. The fee area is surrounded by a 125,000 acre acoustical buffer zone which is considered a national asset. The buffer zone is largely privately owned, but is subject to easements that prevent development. The purpose of the buffer zone is to permit testing of large rocket propulsion systems – the main line of business at the center for more than 40 years. The 7 ½ mile Panama Canal-like lock-and-dam waterway system links the Stennis Space Center test complex to the Pearl River, providing access for delivery of rocket propellants, large rocket components and other materials.

History of Stennis Space Center John C. Stennis Space Center was established to test the engines used to propel the Apollo spacecraft to the moon. “I don’t know yet what method we will use to get to the moon, but I do know that we have to go through Mississippi to get there!” Dr. Wernher Von Braun Site selection of Hancock County, Miss. provided access to: Isolated test site with acoustical buffer zone Water and road transportation capabilities Supportive community Climate conducive for year-round testing Construction began – May 17, 1963 First Saturn V test – April 23, 1966 Space Shuttle Main Engine test role assigned – March 1, 1971 Renamed John C. Stennis Space Center – May 20, 1988 Today – Stennis is America’s largest rocket engine testing facility Stennis Space Center was established in the 1960s to test the engines that powered the Saturn V moon rocket for the Apollo Program. When President John F. Kennedy made his historic announcement in 1961 that the United States would put humans on the moon by the end of the decade, the plan called for a place to test the huge rocket engines. Hancock County, Mississippi, had the major components NASA needed to undertake such an enormous endeavor. This location had thousands of acres of sparsely populated land and an easy waterway access, the East Pearl River.

Stennis Space Center – A Federal City Department of Defense Commander, Naval Meteorology & Oceanography Command Naval Oceanographic Office Naval Research Laboratory Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School Navy Special Boat Team 22 Navy Human Resources Service Center Southeast Mississippi State University Northern Gulf Institute University of Southern Mississippi - College of Science and Technology Dept. of Marine Science Department of Commerce NOAA, NWS, National Data Buoy Center NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA National Coastal Data Development Center Major Contractors Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne Jacobs Technology Inc. A2 Research ASRC Research and Technology Solutions (ARTS) Lockheed Martin ISS Action Science Applications International Corporation Science Systems and Applications Inc. With its effective cost-sharing philosophy and a reputation for state-of-the-art test facilities, highly trained, professional work force and commitment to safety and customer satisfaction, Stennis Space Center serves as a model of government efficiency, showing American taxpayers positive returns on their investments. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Chemistry Laboratory Gulf of Mexico Program State of Mississippi Mississippi Enterprise for Technology Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions State of Louisiana Louisiana Technology Transfer Office, Louisiana Business & Technology Center/LSU Center for Higher Learning Mississippi State University University of Southern Mississippi University of Mississippi University of New Orleans Pearl River Community College Department of Interior U.S. Geological Survey, Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility Commercial Companies Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne Lockheed Martin IS & GS Defense Systems Rolls Royce North America Department of Energy Strategic Petroleum Reserve

2012 Economic Impact Employee Skills Summary • Scientific/Engineering – 31% • Business/Professional – 26% • Technical/Crafts/Production – 24% • Clerical – 8% • Other – 11% Education Levels (All Employees) • Doctorate – 4% • Masters – 14% • Bachelors – 31% • Associates – 11% • Some College – 17% • High School Diploma – 22% • Others – 1%

Rocket Propulsion Test Heritage Apollo Space Shuttle Constellation First Saturn V rocket engine test firing April 23, 1966 First Space Shuttle Main Engine test firing (to achieve ignition) June 12, 1975 First J-2X engine component test December 18, 2007 Mississippi entered the space race in 1961 when NASA selected Hancock County as the site to build a rocket test facility for the Apollo program. Less than 8 years later, American astronauts walked on the moon. After the Apollo and Skylab programs ended in the early 1970’s, the center took propulsion testing to the next level - the space shuttle. During the early stages of the space shuttle program, engineers at Stennis tested the “main propulsion test article,” a cluster of all three space shuttle main engines simulating an actual shuttle launch. Testing of the MPTA has been described as one of Stennis’ finest hours.

Current/Recent Rocket Propulsion Testing Engines and Components AJ26 367,000 lbs. thrust Space shuttle main engine 375,000 lbs. thrust RS-68 660,000 lbs. thrust For more than 30 years, Stennis Space Center’s primary mission was testing the space shuttle main engines (SSME) that power the shuttle during its 8 ½-minute flight into space. In 2004, the one millionth second of Space Shuttle Main Engine firing took place at Stennis. On July 29, 2009, Stennis operators conducted the last scheduled firing of a space shuttle main engine on the A-2 Test Stand. Overall, Stennis tested every space shuttle main engine used on all 135 missions. In addition to space shuttle main engine testing, Stennis is the first NASA center to lease a major facility to a commercial customer. The Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne company at Stennis assembles and tests the RS-68 engine, the world’s largest liquid-hydrogen, liquid-oxygen engine, for the Delta IV launch vehicle program. Engineers at Stennis are also looking to the future, testing the next generation of rocket engines, being developed to carry humans into deep space once more. The A-1 and A-2 stands being used to test the J-2X engine and its sub-components. The flexible, three-stand E-complex can carry out rocket engine testing or other types of testing involving ultra high-pressure gases and high-pressure, super-cold fluids as well. For instance, operators in the E-complex are testing the Aerojet AJ-26 engines for Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares vehicle. Orbital is partnering with NASA to provide commercial cargo transportation flights to the International Space Station, an example of the new direction of NASA to join with private companies for space travel. BE-3 Thrust Chamber Testing 100,000 lbs. thrust J-2X engine 294,000 lbs. thrust

A-3 Test Stand 300 feet tall Open steel frame structure 19-acre site Capabilities: Can withstand up to 1 million pounds of thrust Long-duration testing Engine gimbling Simulated altitudes up to 100,000 feet by generating steam to create a vacuum NASA announced May 8, 2007, its intention to build a new test stand at Stennis Space Center for testing one of the rocket engines it is developing for its new launch vehicles. Construction of the A-3 Test Stand, the first large test structure to be built at Stennis since the 1960s, began in August 2007. Work continues, with activation of the stand set for 2013. Once completed, the 300-foot-tall stand will allow testing of next generation engines at simulated altitudes of up to 100,000 feet. Such testing is critical to ensure that rocket engines being developed to carry humans beyond low-Earth orbit will start in space. The new test stand will use a network of 27 chemical steam generators to create the vacuum that allows simulated high-altitude testing. The new A-3 Test Stand will allow engineers to test operating parameters of next generation rocket engines by simulating conditions at different altitudes.

NASA Rocket Propulsion Test Program - Manage NASA’s rocket propulsion test assets, activities and resources - Reduce test costs via efficient utilization of test facilities in support of NASA, Dept. of Defense and commercial partners/customers - Develop test technologies to improve safety and operational efficiency The Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office at Stennis is responsible for the management of all NASA rocket propulsion test facilities to ensure NASA maintains its core capability of skills and infrastructure to meet mission requirements. Test facilities include those at Stennis, the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico and the Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook Station in Ohio. Marshall Space Flight Center Alabama Glenn Research Center – Plum Brook Ohio White Sands Test Facility New Mexico Stennis Space Center Mississippi

Stennis Space Center Supports NASA’s Vision To reach for new heights and reveal the unknown, so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind. Under the proposed fiscal year 2011 budget, NASA will transition from the Constellation Program and focus more on partnerships with commercial companies to provide space transportation. As noted earlier, Stennis is already partnering with Orbital Sciences Corporation to test engines for its commercial flights. Also, Stennis is preparing to test the engines they will carry humans safely beyond low Earth orbit.

Applied Science & Technology Project Office (ASTPO) Responsibilities include Management of the Gulf of Mexico Initiative for NASA Headquarters Federal co-lead of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, a regional collaboration of the 5 US Gulf states and 13 federal agencies Conducting scientific research that addresses the needs of the Gulf of Mexico region NASA’s Applied Sciences Program focuses on improving the nation’s capacity to use space-based observations in everyday decision-making. Within NASA’s Applied Sciences Program, SSC’s Applied Science & Technology Project Office develops applications using NASA Earth science observations to assist resource managers in the Gulf of Mexico. ASTPO currently manages the agency’s Gulf of Mexico Initiative, which was created in 2007 to enhance the region’s ability to recover from the devastating hurricanes of 2005 and to address its coastal management issues. Since 2009, the initiative has provided $14 million to support 300 scientists conducting 35 research projects in the gulf region. ASTPO is conducting 15 research projects in the gulf region. The projects monitor sensitive ecosystems, like coastal marshes and barrier islands, or environmental parameters, such as water quality. Mississippi River Delta Gulf of Mexico

INFINITY at Stennis Space Center A ribbon cutting ceremony on April 11, 2012 marked the opening of INFINITY at NASA Stennis Space Center, the official visitor center for Stennis. INFINITY, located on Interstate 10 near the entrance to Stennis, has a goal of motivating students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Video of Space Shuttle Main Engine test –a day test, a night test and Space Shuttle Discovery launch on August 19, 2004.

www.nasa.gov