Stennis Space Center management shows its support of small businesses at the recent Stennis Industry Day. Pictured are: Rob Harris, Procurement Officer, Rob Watts, Small Business Specialist NSSC, Michelle Stracener, Small Business Specialist SSC, Marina Benigno, Assistant to the Director, Jo Ann Larson, Manager, Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, Jim Huk, Deputy Procurement Officer and Ken Human, Associate Director.
Rebecca Junell, an aerospace engineer at Stennis Space Center, is shown updating the data review script in the A Test Control Center while listening to the J-2X pre-test headset conversation and waiting for the engine to fire. “It’s exciting now, but my hard work will start after the test!” says Rebecca. The data review presentation Rebecca will put together will help evaluate the facility’s work and to make improvements for future testing.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will travel to a near-Earth carbonaceous asteroid, study it in detail, and bring back a sample to Earth. This will help NASA investigate planet formation and the origin of life, as well as aiding our understanding of asteroids that can impact Earth. (Left to Right): Jonathan Gal-Edd, Ground Systems Manager; Dante Lauretta, Principal Investigator; Dave Everett, Systems Engineer; and Jason Dworkin, Project Scientist.
Stennis Space Center is overseeing the end of construction and the start of activation of the A3 test stand, designed to test rocket engines in a vacuum. The stand will simulate the air pressure at the 100,000 foot level and will prepare spacecraft for a new era of exploration. Pictured are: Ryan Roberts, Test Director for the A3 Test Stand, Dr. Rick Gilbrech, Stennis Center Director and Thom Rich, Design and Construction Lead.
NASA’s Stennis Space Center operates and uses ranges for the purpose of launching, flying, landing, and testing space and aeronautical vehicles and associated technologies. These range operations often involve substantial hazards that can pose significant risk to life, health, and property. Pictured: Jerry Cook, SSC Deputy Director; Katie Carr, Range Safety Manager, and Special Boat Team 22 members on a Special Operations Craft Riverine (SOC-R).
From left to right: Russ Lowers, IHA Biologist; Stephanie Weiss, IHA Biologist; Don Dankert, NASA Natural Resources Specialist; and on the bottom is an 8ft female American Alligator. The Kennedy Space Center Ecological Program ensures that NASA programs do not harm the environment and a key part of this Program is the Alligator monitoring project. Being the top of the food-chain in the 140,000 acre Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, the health of the Alligator at KSC is a very good indicator of the health of the surrounding ecosystem. KSC environmental contractor (IHA) biologists capture 15-20 per month to tag, extract various blood and tissue samples, and gather other physical dimensions. Great care is taken in the methods used to capture these animals so that they are not harmed in the process of gathering these data. The KSC Alligator monitoring project has the highest re-capture rate in the wild of any Alligator monitoring program to date. 
Mark Belz, a Goddard Space Flight Center Electrical Integration and Test Engineer, in front of the James Webb Space Telescope’s electronics compartment. The Telescope will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide by studying every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System.
NASA’s Mid-Level Leader Program – the Agency’s leadership development program for GS 13-14 engineering, science, and administrative professionals – recognizes the critical role of the NASA mid-level leader in accomplishing our mission. This program provides significant leadership development for a diverse, Agency-wide group of individuals who have high potential for assuming greater leadership responsibilities in formal management or program/project management roles.
For the past two decades, NASA has been holding its Great Moonbuggy Race to bring out the best of engineering and athletic aptitude among students from around the globe. This year, students from the University of Puerto Rico took first place in the college division, while Theodore Aguilar Moro Vocational High School won their division.
This year’s record breaking International Space Apps Challenge brought together over 9,000 people around the world to solve challenges applicable to both life on Earth and life in space over a 48-hour period. Kennedy Space Center hosted the first Space Apps Challenge location held at a NASA center and on the first day participants were visited by NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden and KSC Center Director Bob Cabana.
