February issue publishes Tuesday

The first issue of 2021 of the Gulf Coast Aerospace Newsletter will be published Tuesday. The February issue’s cover story is about the recently released Industrial Capabilities Report from the Defense Department. It’s the annual assessment of the health of the nation’s defense industries.

The report covers industries including aircraft, spacecraft, missiles and munitions, shipbuilding, electronics, cybersecurity, and more. Many if not most are of interest to the Gulf Coast I-10 region. In addition to summarizing the findings, we also give you an overview of what the report says about two of the industries most-closely linked to aerospace: aircraft and space.

We also have a story about the large number of military retirees in the 18 counties and parishes spanning the region between New Orleans and Panama City. These retirees bring millions in retirement money to the region every month, which is a boon for local economies. But the retirees – who retire at a younger age than their civilian counterparts – also provide a ready pool of highly skilled workers, many of them going on the pursue careers outside the military.

We also fill you in on the recently completed Green Run of NASA’s Space Launch System. That’s the test where all four of the RS-25 engines are fired at the same time. But the January test only lasted just over a minute instead of the planned eight minutes. So we’ll fill you in on the second test planned for late February. We also have a story about the new series of tests for single RS-25 engines that just got underway.

As usual, the February issue will be sent to the inbox of subscribers, but others can go to our website to download a copy. As always, it’s free thanks to the support of our underwriters.

Regular readers will notice the February issue is smaller than in the past – six instead of eight pages. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, we rely on annual underwriters to fund an entire year of six issues rather than charging readers. That's because we think the stories about our aerospace and aviation activities are too important to put behind a pay wall. The downside of that is it means some years we’ll fall below our required funding level, and 2021 is just such a year.

But unlike some publications, which might tell you you're getting something "improved" when they have to cut back on staff or product, we won't insult your intelligence. You’re getting fewer pages and stories this year, but we can promise you that we will cut no corners when it comes to providing you with quality stories. If that means a smaller product, so be it.

Finally, we launched a Facebook page in December where readers can go to see the entire newsletter or individual stories – and comment if they so desire. If you are on Facebook, please consider liking us and becoming a follower. Just look for Gulf Coast Aerospace Newsletter. The February newsletter will be there Tuesday.