Week in review (5/20 to 5/26)

There are weeks when something occurs that you just know will be a game-changer. This week there were two that stand out in my mind. One involved the first commercial mission to the International Space Station, and I’ll get to that in a moment.

The other was, for me, more personal. I’m talking about the decision of the owners of the New Orleans Times Picayune, Mobile Press-Register, Birmingham News and Huntsville Times to print newspapers just three days a week, beginning in the fall.

The chain, Advance Publications, is facing the same issues newspapers nationwide have faced for a long time with dwindling readership and falling ad revenues. The chain decided that in a digital age, when people get their news delivered to computers and smart phones and immediacy is paramount, it makes sense to focus on that venue.

I'm saddened by it, but not surprised. I got out of the newspaper business in 2006 after more than 30 years to focus on delivering highly specialized content electronically. I still provide some printed materials, but it's for a very limited audience. For example, the 2012-2013 edition of Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor, an annual aerospace book I write with three other current and former reporters, will be published next month. There will be two electronic versions, one a PDF, the other an eBook, as well as a printed version. We try to cover all the bases.

So I can understand the thought process of Advance Publications. Provide content in multiple formats so readers can use the one they like. I still get a daily newspaper delivered to my home. It's a habit I've had since growing up in New York and my family got two papers, the Rockland Journal News and the New York Daily News, and occasionally the New York Times.

But my grandchildren, and likely your children, simply never picked up the habit. No doubt if there had been a smart phone or computers when I was growing up I would have used it to stay informed, as I do today. Significantly, I learned about the Times-Picayune, Mobile Press-Register and the others not from newsprint, but from the Internet.

But something very special is going away. I never worked at the Times Picayune, but I have worked at two of the other Advance Publication papers. My first newspaper job was with the Huntsville Times, and years later I worked for the Mobile Press-Register. I enjoyed my stay at both papers, and worked with some outstanding journalists at both. I was lucky enough to become a journalist at a time when two newspaper towns and afternoon newspapers were still common, a time when UPI and AP competed head to head. I still love the sound of the presses, the smell of the ink, and I’ll always relish memories of how it felt to hold a copy of the paper, right off the press, and seeing a story of mine plastered on the front.

So I guess to some extent Advance Publications is seeing the same thing I saw. I’m still a journalist, only now I deliver my content digitally, and not to a mass audience, but to those particularly interest in aerospace. I made peace a long time ago with this new digital age, and now using it to do what I love doing. Still, I mourn the loss.

Now back to aerospace:

Space
The space race is on again, but this time it's not the U.S.A versus the U.S.S.R., but companies versus companies and regions versus regions. The cargo-carrying spacecraft Dragon successfully hooked up to the International Space Station Friday after launching earlier in the week from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla., atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

The SpaceX unmanned Dragon capsule was captured by the ISS's 58-foot robotic arm some 250 miles above Australia. Over the weekend astronauts aboard the ISS opened the hatch and went inside the Dragon capsule. The Dragon will leave ISS Thursday and splash down in the Pacific later that day.

The SpaceX combination of Falcon 9 and Dragon so far has been highly successful, which is no doubt encouraging for NASA and the entire group of companies involved in commercial space flight. Stennis Space Center, Miss., wasn't involved in any of the testing of the SpaceX space vehicles, but it is testing rocket engines for Orbital Sciences Corp., and Blue Origin, two of the other private companies involved in space transportation.

Speaking of engine testing, a J-2X engine that will eventually be used in the NASA Space Launch System had a 40-second test on the A-2 Test Stand Friday. For the first time, test conductors fired the J-2X in both the secondary and primary modes of operation, 20 seconds in each. Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne is developing the J-2X engine. (Post)

-- Michoud Assembly Facility during the week held a free networking conference for government agencies, prime contractors and small businesses. It will designed to showcase the facility's manufacturing community and to help small businesses find opportunities to grow.


Weapons/systems
Northrop Grumman and NATO signed a $1.7 billion contract for a new surveillance and intelligence system that will include five unmanned Global Hawk Block 40s. Called the Alliance Ground Surveillance system, it's designed to support a broad range of missions for the alliance. The first aircraft will arrive at Sigonella air base in Sicily in 2015 with full operational capability in 2017. Global Hawk center fuselages are built in Moss Point, Miss. (Post)

-- BAE Systems' Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System scored its first-ever penetrating guided-rocket shots with the M282 warhead during recent tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The tests illustrate the product's ability to engage targets at close range and penetrate complex targets. (Post)


F-35
The strike of workers at the Lockheed Martin plant that builds F-35s is now in its fifth week. Lockheed is trying to maintain production and testing by having salaried employees fill in, according to the Star-Telegram. (Post) Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center. It currently has 12 of the 59 F-35s it's scheduled to receive.

-- Two Florida National Guard pilots are now assigned to the 33rd Operations Group at Eglin and will be the first Guard aviators to fly the F-35. They are Lt. Col. Randal Efferson and Maj. Jay Spohn. (Post)

-- An F-35B made its first flight at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., during the week. The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing plans to start local area operations and conventional flights, beginning the process of gradually expanding the envelope to short takeoffs and vertical landings and more complex aerial training. (Post)


Bases/airports
The commander of the Air Force Special Operations Command told a chamber breakfast gathering that the base is bustling, and it will only get busier, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. Lt. Gen. Eric Fiel said Eglin's 9th Special Operations Squadron will be brought over to Hurlburt in the next year. (Post)

-- An 81st Aerospace Medicine Squadron flight surgeon recently participated in the annual 403rd Wing Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour. Maj. Rhodora Beckinger joined the "Hurricane Hunters" of the Air Force Reserve Command's Keesler Air Force Base’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron during their travel to six locations. (Post)

-- In Mississippi, Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport will have a new commercial carrier and a new destination as its hub. Silver Airways of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will take over routes currently served by Delta Air Lines. (Post)


Companies
Segers Aero Corp. of Fairhope, Ala., is now an authorized maintenance center for the popular Rolls-Royce T56 series of engines. That could open new markets in Central and South America for the Fairhope company, which repairs and overhauls turbine engines. (Post)


Shipbuilding/maritime
Builder’s trial: Amphibious transport dock Anchorage successfully completed its builder's trials. The 684-foot LPD 23, under construction at the company's Avondale, La., shipyard, is the seventh in the LPD 17-class to be built by Ingalls. (Post)

Submarine: The USS Mississippi arrived in Pascagoula Friday to cheering crowds. The 377-foot attack submarine will be commissioned June 2, an event expected to draw thousands. The Virginia-class sub was built by General Dynamics' Electric Boat in Groton, Conn. (Post)

Week in review (5/13 to 5/19)

More rocket engine tests at Stennis Space Center, Miss.; the arrival of a 12th F-35 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.; steps taken to mitigate safety issues with F-22 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and other locations; language in a bill that protects Eglin's Air Armament Center; the move of a school from Hurlburt Field, Fla., possibly to Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.; and a change of command were just some of the aerospace news items during the week of interest to the Gulf Coast region.

Here's your week in review, along with links for more details:


Space
Falcon 9, the first commercial venture to bring supplies to the International Space Station, aborted just before its scheduled launch Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of Falcon 9 and its Dragon capsule stopped as the count struck zero because of high pressure in one of the engines. Space X plans to try again in a few days.

-- A Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68A engine was tested during the week at Stennis Space Center, Miss. The engine, an upgrade of the RS-68 engine, is designed for the Delta IV family of launch vehicles. After testing at SSC the engines are shipped to Decatur, Ala., for integration into a United Launch Alliance Delta IV. (Post) The next day at SSC, a Rocketdyne J-2X had a seven-second test firing that focused on a modified nozzle extension that dissipates heat generated by the engine. The J-2X is being developed for use in the second stage of NASA's Space Launch System. (Post)

-- Those J-2X engines won't be used for quite a while. NASA plans to use a modified Delta IV second stage atop an early version of the SLS for the unmanned Orion test flight in 2017, and for a manned flight four years later. NASA said the Boeing-designed Delta IV second stage requires relatively minor modifications to launch astronauts by 2021. (Post)

As a reminder to our ties to all this, the Orion is built in New Orleans at Michoud Assembly Facility; the SLS first stage will use four RD-25 engines tested at Stennis Space Center; Delta IV is built in Decatur, Ala., and the first stage is powered by RS-68 engines, also tested at SSC.


Aircraft
The 12th Lockheed Martin F-35 arrived at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., during the week after a 90-minute flight from Fort Worth, Texas. The F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing production jet is assigned to the Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 501 residing with the host 33d Fighter Wing, where it will be used for pilot and maintainer training. (Post)

-- Additional steps have been taken to mitigate risks to F-22 pilots in light of an unresolved problem related to the oxygen system. Some pilots of experienced hypoxia-like symptoms. F-22 flights will remain near potential landing locations, and the Air Force will expedite installation of an automatic backup oxygen system. Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., is among the six bases were F-22s are based. (Post)


Bases
The House approved the National Defense Authorization Act, including language designed to keep the Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., introduced a paragraph that would require the Air Force to keep the AAC at Eglin unless a future Base Realignment and Closure commission decides differently. (Story)

-- Military facilities along the Gulf Coast Interstate 10 corridor have a combined replacement value of $20.3 billion. According to the fiscal year 2012 Department of Defense Base Structure Report, the region between Southeast Louisiana and Northwest Florida has 47 DoD sites with a combined 723,297 acres. (Post)

-- Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, are candidates for the Tactical Air Control Party and Air Liaison Officer School. The current school at Hurlburt Field, Fla., lacks adequate facilities and ranges to train the required number of TACP needed. The final decision will be made after environmental impacts are analyzed. (Post)

-- Eighteen civilian workers at Hurlburt Field, Fla., will be let go as a result of cutbacks announced in November 2011. Most of the positions were vacant when the cuts were first announced, but voluntary retirements and separation incentives did not reach the goal of 100, leaving 18 people without jobs at the end of September 2012. (Post)

-- Brig. Gen. Bradley Spacy assumed command of the 81st Training Wing during a ceremony at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., late in the week. Spacy replaced Brig. Gen. Andrew Mueller, who has been selected for a new command assignment at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Air Base Geilenkirchen in Germany. (Post) (Story update)

-- Final recommendations are expected in June from a study about the impact on local communities from the expected increase in military training at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The study is a joint project of Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties, along with Eglin. (Post)

-- At Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Brig. Gen. John McMullen, the 325th Fighter Wing commander, announced the wing mission statement has changed to "Train and Project Unrivaled Combat Power" to better reflects the current and future missions at Tyndall. (Post)


Award
Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss., was selected for membership in enHance, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality’s voluntary stewardship program. Northrop Grumman voluntarily implementing two environmental enhancement projects and a community service project. (Post)


Contracts
Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., was awarded an $85.5 million contract to procure of Griffin missiles. First delivery order is for the procurement of 22 all-up-rounds and 43 telemetry rounds. AAC/PKES, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.


Shipbuilding/maritime
Contract: Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., was awarded a $133.7 million modification to previously awarded contract for advance procurement of long-lead-time materials and pre-construction activities in support of Landing Platform Dock 27. Work will be done in Pascagoula and is expected to complete by June 2017. (Post)

Commissioning: The Navy Saturday was scheduled to commission the newest San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, San Diego. Built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., the ship is 684 feet long and capable of embarking a landing force of about 800 Marines. (Post)

Shutdown: Harrison Brothers Dry Dock and Repair Yard is closing after 117 years in Mobile, Ala. A combination of factors, including a slack economy, led to the decision to close. (Post)

Week in review (5/6 to 5/12)

We had our usual mix of aerospace stories of interest to the Gulf Coast region during the week, like more F-35s at Eglin, rocket engine and component tests at Stennis Space Center, a contract to buy three more Fire Scouts and an upcoming symposium on unmanned aerial systems.

But there were a handful of news items that are intriguing because of the impact they'll have on this region in the future. One happened in Florida, one in Alabama and the other in Mississippi. And they all could make a difference in perceptions of this region, as well as provide us with a new generation of residents who understand the significance of science, technology, engineering and math.

In Florida, the National Flight Academy at Naval Air Station Pensacola welcomed its first class to the multimillion-dollar center adjacent to the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola.

The opening was covered by the local media, of course, and the Associated Press did a story as well about the high-tech center that provides students with the look and feel of the inside of an aircraft carrier, complete with jet noise and more. The center links 30 simulators, and the idea is to give the students hands-on experience using the science and math skills that they learn in school.

Importantly, they don't run combat missions where the idea is to knock out the enemy, but missions that include humanitarian operations. They were welcomed to the inaugural class by astronaut Mark Kelly, who was joined by Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, and Gene Cernan, the last one to do so.

The ersatz carrier, dubbed Ambition, is operated by a nonprofit with funding from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and other aviation and defense industry leaders. It was created with help from designers who have worked for Disney and Universal Studios theme parks.

The National Flight Center is significant in itself, but what's intriguing is it's not the only push in this region to interest students in STEM activities. Across the state line in Mobile, Ala., the Airbus Corporate Foundation during the week awarded a second $50,000 grant to the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center. The money will be used to expand its first year pilot youth mentoring and aeronautics program.

That's in keeping with Airbus' goal to "inspire disadvantaged children and young adults through aviation." Dubbed ExploreAIR, the Exploreum's expanded program will focus on students, grade 6-12, and support the science center's ongoing Workforce Development initiatives.

Further to the west in Mississippi, fourth and fifth-graders helped harvest aeroponically grown lettuce on Monday at the new NASA Infinity Science Center, an impressive facility south of Interstate 10 about two miles from the Louisiana-Mississippi state line.

Students from Louisiana helped in the first harvest from the Controlled Environment Agriculture exhibit, which grows lettuce in about 35 days without the use of soil. The CEA is a prototype developed and built by Innovative Imaging & Research with funding from Stennis Space Center's Chief Technologist’s Office and the University of Southern Mississippi's Business and Innovation Assistance Center in partnership with the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology.

Infinity is still raising funding for all its exhibits, but when it reaches full bloom it will have activities that will involve visitors in activities ranging from deep sea exploration to deep space. What's particularly interesting about Infinity is its prime location along a well-traveled interstate, where it should lure a lot of folks traveling along the interstate.

What strikes me is that we are developing in this region some really fascinating islands of learning that targets young people and could lead them to STEM careers. My fear is that leaders in this region will continue to look just in their own back yard and will fail to see the bigger picture -- how all these centers can fit together as a super science tour package.

Since organizations in this region have received a lot of money from BP for tourism development, they should get together to consider promoting these science centers for family-oriented multi-day or multi-week tours. Food and beaches and all the typical tourist lures are great, but can you imagine the impact of promoting this region as a place where students could get inundated in STEM activities? Give 'em a package that would include time at all these places, and years from now when those students are in decision-making positions, they'll remember that experience and this region.

A detailed look at some of these facilities can be found on pages 85-86 of Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor 2011-2012, a book about aerospace activities in this region. You can download the chapter PDF with pages 85-86 right here. If you're an economic development or tourism official and this intrigues you, feel free to give me a call at 850-261-6777.

OK, here's a look at some of the other aerospace-related news items of interest to the Gulf Coast region that moved during the week:


Space
NASA conducted a 340-second test of the J-2X powerpack as part of the development of the next-generation rocket engine for the Space Launch System. The powerpack sits atop the J-2X engine and feeds the thrust chamber system, which produces engine thrust. The test was to operate the turbopumps over a range of speeds by varying the gas generator valve positions. (Post)

-- At Cape Canaveral, Fla., the second Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite was launched by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V vehicle. AEHF is a joint service, highly secure satellite communications system for ground, sea and air assets. The core propulsion work for the AEHF is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)


F-35
Two F-35B aircraft arrived at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., during the week after a 90-minute flight from Fort Worth, Texas. The Marine Corps F-35s, designated BF-9 and BF-10, are assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing's Marine Fighter/Attack Squadron 501. Eglin now has 11 F-35s, and another F-35B, BF-11, is also slated to arrive this week at Eglin. (Post)

-- Navy Vice Adm. David J. Venlet, F-35 program executive officer, told the Senate Armed Services Committee’s airpower panel that technical and cost issues remain, but the F-35 is an impressive marriage of engine and airframe. Venlet also touted a fix for the jet's troubled, high-tech helmet, which officials hope will solve jitter picture and lag time issues. Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin issued a press release about the milestones in the F-35 flight test program. (Post)

-- F-35 builder Lockheed Martin was awarded a $237.7 million modification to the previously awarded Low Rate Initial Production IV contract for changes to the configuration baseline hardware or software resulting from the JSF development effort. It was for Marine Corps and UK short take-off vertical landing aircraft, Air Force and Netherlands conventional take-off and landing aircraft and Navy carrier variant aircraft. (Post) Lockheed Martin also was awarded a $14 million contract modification to implement required design changes that allow coalition training operations for the F-35. (Post)


F-22
A report on television’s 60 Minutes about pilots who refuse to fly the F-22 because of
hypoxia-related safety issues has pulled attention back to the advanced aircraft. Investigators have yet to pin down what's wrong with the planes oxygen system. The Panama City News Herald reported that Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., issued a statement vowing to work to help to solve the problems. He also wants the entire F-22 training mission at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. (Post)


Unmanned systems
Some of the nation's leading experts in unmanned aerial systems will be at Mississippi State University beginning Monday for the 2012 UAS Symposium that will focus on the impact of unmanned aircraft technology on research, defense, homeland security, law, and public policy.

The university and the Association of Unmanned Aerial Systems International-Mississippi are co-hosts. The program features a lineup of speakers, panel discussions, flight demonstrations, and tours.

Mississippi is a player in the UAV field, with activities in the Golden Triangle area and South Mississippi. Fire Scout and Global Hawk UAVs are built in part in Moss Point, Miss., by Northrop Grumman. In the Gulf Coast region, multiple bases in the region are involved in UAV activities. (Post)

-- Here's one of interest to Moss Point, Miss. Northrop Grumman was awarded a $25.7 million modification to a previously awarded contract to purchase three Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned aerial vehicles Lot 5 low rate initial production and one ground control station. Fifty-five percent of the work will be done in Moss Point. (Post)


Economic development
The political columnist of the Mobile Press-Register during the week took on the question of whether the election of Francois Hollande as president of France might have an impact on "The Project," shorthand for the effort to get an aircraft assembly plant in Mobile. (Post)

-- The Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce has unveiled its new Blueprint for a Better Tomorrow economic development strategy. Bradley Byrne, the chamber board's vice chairman for economic development, outlined four areas of concentration, including aerospace. (Post)


Contracts
The Navy awarded contracts during the week to support the Naval Education Training Command and Naval Education and Training Professional Development and Technology Center in Pensacola, Fla. Northrop Grumman got a three-year, $84 million contract to provide planning and assessment, curriculum development, and computer-based modeling and simulation training solutions for NETC. General Dynamics Information Technology was among awardees of a contract to deliver education and training support services to NETC and NETPDTC. The three-year, contract has a potential value of $97.4 million to all nine awardees, if all options are exercised. Work will primarily be performed in Pensacola, Fla., Gulfport, Miss., Hampton Roads, Va., and Port Hueneme, Calif. … Enterprise Ventures Corp., Johnstown, Pa., was awarded a $12.5 million contract for the production of 12 carriage, stream, tow, and recovery system kits in support of the Naval Air Systems Command, MH-60S Airborne Mine Countermeasures Program. Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded an $11.4 million contract for central processing unit, circuit card assembly spike extension on the Lot 24 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile production lot. AAC/EBAC, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $24 million contract for technical support for the Joint Direct Attack Munition weapon system to include non-warranty induction and repair, annual software updates, mission planning support and studies/analysis. AAC/EBDK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.


Shipbuilding/maritime
The Times-Picayune reported during the week that state economic officials are involved in talks that would transfer ownership of the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility from the University of New Orleans to Louisiana State University. (Story)

LCS: Austal is confident its contract with the U.S. Navy will not be affected by a move to investigate purchase of the ships. A committee wants the Government Accountability Office to look into how the U.S. Navy has dealt with problems associated with its 55-vessel Littoral Combat Ship program. Austal USA is building the Independence class version of the LCS in Mobile, Ala. (Post)

Leaks: The Associated Press reported that a Coast Guard cutter built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., will have to be put in dry dock for repairs. Temporary repairs were made to the four leaks found in April on the USCG Stratton. (Post)

Hangar: A composite helicopter hangar built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Gulfport, Miss., is heading for Bath Iron Works in Maine. The 60 foot wide structure took nearly two years to construct. Another, even larger composite structure, the deckhouse is still being built and is expected to be shipped to Maine this summer. (Post)

Contract: Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., was awarded a $7.7 million modification to previously awarded contract for DDG 51-class and CG 47-class Aegis combat system installation, integration, testing, and fleet life-cycle engineering support of the Program Executive Officer for Integrated Warfare Systems. Pascagoula, Miss., will do 1 percent of the work. (Post)

Week in review (4/29 to 5/5)

An acceptance test at Stennis Space Center; an update on United Technologies' push to sell Rocketdyne; the death of an Eglin-based soldier; news on the F-35; a grant for airport improvements; some news from the region's brand new science learning centers; the bankruptcy filing of a company that had been courted by Louisiana; and a Boeing celebration marking 50 years in Alabama are some of the news items during the week of interest to the Gulf Coast aerospace corridor.

Here's the week in review, with links to posts and stories if you want more detailed information:

Space
NASA's commercial space flight partners are continuing to move forward, despite the delay in the launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Software issues are being worked out before the launch of the rocket carrying the Dragon capsule -- the first attempt by a private company to send cargo to the International Space Station. (Post)

The launch originally was scheduled for April 30, but it won't occur now until at least May 19. It's a demonstration project for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, and a key to the project is Dragon's capability to rendezvous and berth with the ISS. To read more about this, take a look at Spaceflight's update.

SpaceX has a contract to fly 12 cargo missions to the ISS. Meanwhile, another company with a COTS contract, Orbital Sciences Corp., is preparing its Antares rocket for a test flight in August from Wallops Islands, Va.

The first stage of the Antares will be powered by two Aerojet AJ26 engines. One of those engines, E9, was tested during the week at Stennis Space Center, Miss. A team of NASA, Orbital Sciences Corp. and Aerojet engineers monitored the 55-second hot-fire engine acceptance test on the E-1 test stand. It was the eighth test of an AJ26 at Stennis. After review and inspection, the engine will be shipped to the Wallops Flight Facility launch site for installation on the Antares. (Post)

-- Speaking of NASA, the agency picked 10 proposals from small business and research institution teams to continue work on technologies for future missions. One of the Phase II award winners in the agency's Small Business Technology Transfer Program is developing a project for Stennis Space Center. The team members are Combustion Research and Flow Technology of Pipersville, Pa., and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Ala. (Post)

-- Stennis International Airport, just outside Stennis Space Center, Miss., is getting a federal grant of $855,000 for improvements associated with a new terminal. The projects include construction of a new aircraft parking apron, rehabilitation of part of another apron and repainting taxiway markings. Some of the funds also will be used to improve a runway safety area, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. (Post) By the way, Rolls-Royce uses this airport to transport its engines for testing at SSC.


Companies
United Technologies is focusing on one possible buyer for its Rocketdyne unit, the head of the company's Pratt & Whitney engine unit told Reuters. In March UT put Rocketdyne up for sale to help finance its $16.5 billion pending takeover of components maker Goodrich. Rocketdyne, which makes rocket engines for spacecraft, has an operation at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Goodrich has an operation in Foley, Ala. (Post)

-- You may recall when Louisiana tried to lure Hawker Beechcraft to Baton Rouge more than a year ago. The state offered incentives to get the company to leave Wichita, Kan. Now Hawker Beechcraft has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy The company reached an agreement with many creditors on a plan to restructure its debt, and it secured funding to continue to pay workers and vendors.

In addition to Wichita, the company has operations Arkansas, the United Kingdom and Mexico, along with more than 100 service centers worldwide. The bankruptcy is a tough blow for Wichita. Boeing plans to close its large plant in the city. (Post)

-- Speaking of Boeing, that company during the week celebrated 50 years in Alabama. It's the largest aerospace company in the state, where it maintains its Strategic Missile and Defense Systems headquarters in Huntsville, as well as its largest program, Ground-based Midcourse Defense. Huntsville also hosts Boeing Exploration Launch Systems, which oversees NASA's Space Launch System and support to the International Space Station. Boeing also has operations at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and in Northwest Florida. (Post)

-- L3 Crestview Aerospace on during the week unveiled the Armed Forces Tribute Memorial, designed and built by its workers. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., said it’s an outstanding thing for the company to have at its gate, according to WEAR-TV in Pensacola. Miller said the products of L3 go to the warfighter, and the memorial will serve as a reminder of this important work. L3 Crestview Aerospace employs about 900 people at its facility at the Bob Sikes Airport. (Post)


Bases
A soldier assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., who was shot to death by an Afghan soldier, will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery later this month, according to his hometown newspaper.

Staff Sgt. Andrew T. Britton-Mihalo, 25, of Simi Valley, Calif., was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group at Eglin. He was at a base in Kandahar province when he was shot to death by an Afghan soldier. (Post)

-- The state of Florida will have $4.6 million to spend on programs supporting its defense
installations in the fiscal year starting July 1, according to Defense Communities 360. Funding includes money for three grant programs and the Florida Defense Support Task Force.

The task force was created last year and allocated $5 million. The FY 2012-2013 budget adds $2 million more, while the grant programs will get $2.6 million. Florida is home to 21 military bases and missions, many of them in Northwest Florida. (Post)

-- Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told a crowd at the Air Armament Museum during the week that it would be foolish to move any of Eglin Air Force Base’s missions elsewhere. He said investments have been made at Eglin for decades, and affirmed his support of a defense authorization bill marker requiring the Air Armament Center to stay at Eglin unless a future Base Realignment and Closure Act declares otherwise, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. (Post) Rubio also visited Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Fla.

-- The new leader of the Blue Angels flight demonstration team for the 2013-2014 season will be Cmdr. Thomas Frosch. The native of Michigan joins the Blue Angles after serving as commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 146 at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif. The change of command will be Nov. 4, 2012. The team is based at Naval Air Station Pensacola. (Post)

-- Lt. Col. Jason Costello has assumed command of the 325th Training Support Squadron from Lt. Col. Douglas Kugler during a change of command ceremony during the week at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Costello was the 325th Fighter Wing Chief of Safety. Kugler is now the 325th Operations Group Action Officer. (Post)

-- Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast Public Works Department Pensacola, Fla., awarded a $3.6 million Utility Energy Services Contract to Gulf Power of Pensacola for an energy conservation project at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Fla. The project is designed to reduce energy consumption and will start in July. (Post)

-- This one isn’t aerospace, but it's interesting for this region's military activities. The Pensacola News Journal reported Saturday that the Department of Homeland Security plans to station up to 200 civilian cyber security specialists at Corry Station, where they'll work to protect federal computer networks. (Story)


STEM centers
Retired astronaut Mark Kelly will be keynote speaker during the May 11 grand opening for the first class of students attending the National Flight Academy at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. Kelly, a former combat pilot, will be joined by retired astronauts Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, according to the Pensacola News Journal. The flight academy, a replica of the inside of an aircraft carrier, is designed to interest students in careers in science, technology, engineering and math. (Post)

Meanwhile, another center that focuses on STEM, the Infinity Science Center near the Mississippi and Louisiana state line, will show off on Monday its first major aeroponically-grown lettuce harvest from an agriculture exhibit. The exhibit demonstrates methods astronauts on long-duration space missions can use to grow food, in this case lettuce grown without the use of soil. Students and the media have been invited. (Post)


F-35
OK, here are a couple of things from the F-35 front. As you know, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.

Pratt and Whitney has delivered the 50th production F135 engine for the Lockheed Martin F-35. The engine is scheduled to be installed in a F-35C carrier variant for the Navy, which will be delivered to Eglin this summer. To date, the F135 propulsion system has powered more than 330 vertical landings, 2,000 test flights producing more than 3,000 flight hours. (Post)

-- Lockheed Martin was awarded a $7.5 million modification to the previously awarded contract for F-35 Low Rate Initial Production IV Sustainment. It provides for the procurement of 1,198 active matrix liquid crystal displays for all low rate initial production variants. Work will be done in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in May 2012. The contract combines purchases for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and the Cooperative Program Participant. (Post)


Contracts
L-3 Communications Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., was awarded two contracts during the week for work at Corpus Christi Army Depot. In one, the company was awarded a $48.2 million labor-hour contract to provide labor services in support of aircraft production at the Corpus Christi Army Depot, Texas. In the second, the company was awarded a $29.8 million labor-hour contract to provide for the labor and administration services in support of aircraft production at the depot. … Qualis Corp., Madison County, Ala., and Spectrum Comm Inc., Newport News, Va., were awarded a $77 million contract to procure operational test and evaluation services to support Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center in accomplishment of operational test and evaluation activities. The locations of performance are Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., Eglin, Air Force Base, Fla., Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and Edwards, Air Force Base, Calif.


Shipbuilding/maritime
USS Independence: The littoral combat ship USS Independence arrived at Naval Base San Diego during the week, wrapping up LCS-2's maiden voyage from Mayport, Fla. The ship, built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., was commissioned in 2010. (Post)

JHSV: Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., had a keel-laying ceremony during the week for the third Joint High Speed Vessel. About 100 people gathered for the ceremony, according to the Mobile Press-Register. The vessels are equipped with helicopter landing pads and are designed for use in shallow waters. (Post)

USS Mississippi: General Dynamics Electric Boat during the week delivered the nuclear-powered
submarine Mississippi to the U.S. Navy more than a year ahead of schedule and more than $60 million below target cost. SSN-782, the ninth ship of the class, will join the fleet in a commissioning ceremony June 2 in Pascagoula, Miss. (Post)

LHA 7: The latest large-deck amphibious assault ship being built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., LHA 7, will be named USS Tripoli. LHA 7 has an increased aviation capacity to include an enlarged hangar deck and more that will support helicopters, tilt rotors and Joint Strike Fighters F-35B aircraft. (Post)

Contract: Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., was awarded an $11.5 million modification to previously awarded contract to exercise an option for fiscal 2012 class services in support of class product fabrication, delivery, engineering, engineering support and integrated logistics support of the DDG 1000 destroyer. Work will be done in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss. (Post)

Week in review (4/22 to 4/28)

Work on manned and unmanned helicopters will be bringing about $160 million worth of work to the Gulf Coast region from contracts awarded during the week. In one, Northrop Grumman will build the latest version of the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter in Moss Point, Miss., and in the other, Sikorsky will be doing maintenance work on helicopters in Pensacola and Milton.

That's part of some $440 million worth of contracts awarded this week that are of interest to the Gulf Coast aerospace region. The other big contract was for work on F-35s, some of which will eventually be based at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Here's the week in review, with links to posts and stories if you want more detailed information:

Unmanned systems
A $262.3 million contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman for work on eight Fire Scout unmanned helicopters. Nearly half the work will be done at the Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss.

The contract provides for the development, manufacture, and testing of two Fire Scout MQ-8C, the larger version of the Fire Scout that uses a Bell 407 airframe, and production of six others. Work is expected to be completed in May 2014. Moss Point is also the location where work is done on the smaller MQ-8B variant. (Post)

-- An SUV-sized white helium-filled blimp got attention in Panama City, Fla., during the week. The Aerostat, suspended 500 feet in the air, was tethered to a mobile base equipped with technology to operate unmanned vehicles from shore. The Aerostat acts as a satellite, relaying signals that would otherwise be out of range of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. (Post)

-- The Air Force isn't taking any drastic steps with the RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 30 program, even though it's targeted for cancelation in the president's fiscal 2013 budget request. The Air Force's director for the Global Hawk program, said the service is not going to make any major changes until Congress acts.

The House Armed Services Committee mark-up of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013 includes $260 million towards keeping the Block 30s operational. It adds 560 personnel to the strength of the Air Force to maintain the 18 Block 30 UAVs. The president’s budget request provided no funds to operate the 18 drones. (Post)

The fate of Global Hawks is of interest to this region. The center fuselages are built in Moss Point, Miss.


Space
Blue Origin, one of four companies working on technologies for commercial space transportation, successfully tested the design for its orbital spaceship in a series of wind-tunnel tryouts. More than 180 tests were done over the past several weeks at Lockheed Martin's High Speed Wind Tunnel Facility in Dallas.

Blue Origin, of Kent, Washington, soon will be conducting tests of the thrust chamber assembly for the BE-3 rocket engine recently installed on the E 1 complex test stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss. Blue Origin, Boeing, Sierra Nevada and Space X all are working on space transportation systems.

Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket was supposed to launch on a demonstration mission Monday from Cape Canaveral, Fla., but the launch is being delayed to allow for additional testing. It will take cargo in the Dragon capsule to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program. (Post)

Meanwhile, NASA on Thursday kicked off the next round of testing on the Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne J-2X rocket engine. The engine will power the second stage of its planned Space Launch System.

The test at the A-2 Stand at Stennis Space Center, Miss., was to gather data on the performance of the newly-installed engine nozzle extension and test stand "clamshell," as well as on the engine start and shutdown sequences. The nozzle extension and clamshell equipment allow operators to test the engine at simulated altitudes up to 50,000 feet. The engine will undergo 15 more tests this year. (Post)

Development of the Orion Crew Capsule that will sit atop the Space Launch System is also moving forward. The Orion Ground Test Vehicle is now at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Operations and Checkout Facility after traveling 1,800 miles from Lockheed Martin's Waterton Facility near Denver, Colo., where it completed a series of tests.

The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations at the O&C in preparation for the Orion spaceflight test vehicle's arrival this summer. The spaceflight vehicle is being fabricated at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La., and is slated for NASA's Exploration Flight Test in 2014. (Post)


Bases/airports
Under a draft version of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill, the Air Force would have to keep a key research, development, test and evaluation facility at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. According to the Northwest Florida Daily News, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., sponsored the language requiring the Air Force to retain the Air Armament Center at Eglin unless a future base closure action rules otherwise.

The Air Force is consolidating the Air Force Materiel Command's 12 centers into five, disestablishing the Air Armament Center and combining the 46th Test Wing and 96th Air Base Wing and having it report to the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Local officials fear reorganization is a precursor to moving the operations of the 46th Test Wing to Edwards. (Post)

-- Brig. Gen. David A. Harris, vice commander of the Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be the commander of the 96th Test Wing, Air Force Materiel Command, at Eglin, the Air Force announced. Harris' assignment was one of 11 general officer assignments announced Friday by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. (Post)

-- The Department of Defense Explosive Ordnance Disposal community is hosting the Annual EOD Memorial Ceremony on May 5 at 9 a.m. at the EOD Memorial in Niceville, Fla. This year's keynote speaker is Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. The EOD Memorial Foundation was established in 1969 to honor the men and women of the EOD community, and the ceremony adding names is held each year. (Post)

-- Clay Williams has been named the new executive director of Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, replacing Bruce Frallic, who will retire in August after serving as executive director of the Mississippi airport for 26 years. The Sun Herald reported that Williams currently works as a government relations representative for Capitol Resources LLC, managing the firm's Gulf Coast office. (Post)


Airbus vs Boeing
Boeing has the upper hand against rival Airbus in the battle to win an aircraft order from United Continental Holdings. The potential value is $15 billion. Sources told Reuters that
Boeing is the front-runner for orders for about 180 narrow body jets, and Bloomberg was
told by sources that Airbus has dropped out of the contest. Airbus has an engineering center in Mobile, Ala. (Post)


F-35
Here's one of interest to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., home of the F-35 training center.

Assembly workers at the Lockheed Martin plant in Fort Worth, where the F-35s are built, went on strike during the week. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 776 rejected Lockheed Martin’s final contract offer and walked off their jobs. (Post)

Despite that, Lockheed Martin was awarded two contracts totaling $114.2 million for the F-35. It was awarded a $68.2 million modification to the previously awarded F-35 Low Rate Initial Production II contract for changes to the configuration baseline hardware or software resulting from the JSF development effort. The modification applies to the Air Force and Marine Corps version of the F-35.

The company also was awarded a $45.9 million modification to the previously awarded F-35 Low Rate Initial Production III contract for changes to the configuration baseline hardware or software resulting from the JSF development effort. This modification applies to the Marine Corps and United Kingdom aircraft. (Post)

Work on both contracts will be done in Fort Worth, Texas.


Contract
Sikorsky Support Services Inc., Pensacola, Fla., was awarded a $63.3 million modification of a previously awarded contract for logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot-level maintenance on 179 T-34, 54 T-44, and 192 T-6 aircraft based primarily at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas; NAS Whiting Field, Fla.; and NAS Pensacola. Half the work will be in Corpus Christi, but 39 percent will be at Whiting Field, 8 percent in Pensacola and the rest in various sites within the continental United States. (Post)


Shipbuilding/maritime
LCS: A report from a watchdog group was highly critical of the Lockheed Martin version of the Littoral Combat Ship, and recommending dropping it in favor of the Austal USA variant built in Mobile, Ala. The Mobile Press Register had a story about it during the week. (Post)

Marine science: Mississippi State University's new Science and Technology Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss., is now home of the country's seventh National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Exploration Command Center. The center, using "telepresence technology," enables research scientists at sea and colleagues on shore to simultaneously view live video streams from underseas. (Post)

Week in review (4/15 to 4/21)

A decision on the number of engines that will power NASA's Space Launch System; more activity involving the F-35; two robotic systems with a Gulf Coast connection; a farewell to T-34 Turbo Mentors at Whiting Field; the retirement of a long-time airport chief; and a plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico were among the Gulf Coast aerospace stories during the week.

Here's the week in review, with links to posts and stories if you want detailed information.

Space
Engineers have settled on a four-engine cluster of RD-25D space shuttle engines to power the main stage of NASA's heavy-launch Space Launch System which is being developed for deep space exploration. They also considered a three and five-engine version.

Word of the decision came during the week from Boeing officials at the National Space Symposium in Colorado. After the RD-25D supply at Stennis Space Center, Miss., is used up, the throwaway RD-25E will be used. The RD-25 engines will be tested at Stennis, which tested all the main engines for the now-ended Space Shuttle program. Stennis, in south Mississippi close to the Mississippi-Louisiana state line, is also running tests on the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne J-2X that will be used in the second stage of the SLS.

The main stage of SLS will be assembled at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans using advanced friction-stir welders, and it probably will be built of aluminum lithium, officials say, though other alloys are possible. Michoud, by the way, also is building the Orion crew capsule that will sit atop the massive rocket. (Post)

NASA during the week successfully conducted a drop test of the Orion crew vehicle's entry, descent and landing parachutes in preparation for the vehicle's orbital flight test, Exploration Flight Test -1, in 2014. A C-130 dropped a dart-shaped test vehicle with a simulated Orion parachute compartment from an altitude of 25,000 feet above the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona. (Post)

The schedule right now has the first unmanned SLS flight slated for 2017. The first flight carrying the Lockheed Martin-developed Orion is slated for 2021. But before those launches we'll see the launch of commercial rockets that are part of NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.

Orbital Science Corp. recently installed its medium-launch, two-stage Antares on the pad at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. (Story) The first stage will be powered by Aerojet AJ-26 engines tested at SSC. Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, is slated to launch its Dragon cargo carrier to the International Space Station on a Falcon 9 rocket at the end of this month. It will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (Story)

One side note to show the growing interest in commercial ventures into space. United Launch Alliance has formed a new organization that will focus on NASA's human spaceflight programs. ULA's Human Launch Services will be dedicated to supporting NASA and its partners in the development of capabilities to deliver U.S. astronauts to low-Earth orbit and human exploration beyond Earth Orbit. (Story) UAL is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, and builds the Atlas and Delta rockets. Delta uses Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68 engines assembled and tested at Stennis. ATK in Iuka, Miss., builds parts for the Delta rockets, and the manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are in Decatur, Ala.


F-35
There's always news about the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and this week was no exception. At Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., home of the F-35 training center, the integrated joint strike fighter training team has opened the doors for the first Air Force certification courses.

The 33rd Fighter Wing has eight basic familiarization courses now in session at the academic training center with courses scheduled through early next year. About 100 maintenance students from three branches of service began the inaugural classes March 19. (Post)

One plane that will eventually make its way to Eglin is designated BK-1, a short take-off and vertical landing jet built for the United Kingdom. The UK's first production F-35 completed a 45-minute inaugural flight last week. BK-1 will now undergo a series of tests before being handed over to the UK, which will then begin training and further testing at Eglin later this year. (Post)

-- The Air Force is moving ahead on where it will base operational F-35 aircraft. The draft environmental impact statement was released during the week, and now hearings will get underway in the communities that will be impacted.

Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the preferred alternative for the active duty F-35s, and Burlington Air Guard Station, Vt., is the preferred alternative for the Air National Guard. Other active duty and Air National Guard bases under consideration are Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, Jacksonville AGS, Fla.; and Shaw AFB/McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C. (Post)


Unmanned systems
If you follow aerospace activities in this region, you know Northrop Grumman builds portions of the Fire Scout and Global Hawk UAVs in Moss Point, Miss., and that military bases in the region are involved in using and training with UAVs. So this following item will be of interest.

With the Federal Aviation Administration now working on allowing unmanned aircraft to operate in the national airspace with piloted aircraft, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University -- which conducts classes in this region -- and other universities have created majors for students interested in flying or building drones, according to Bloomberg.

The classes cater to a new generation of pilots who have no interest in getting airborne themselves. And it makes perfectly good sense to put these programs in universities. The drone industry worldwide is expected to grow to $11.3 billion annually by 2021. (Post)

OK, the following isn't about unmanned aerial systems, but it is about robotics. Two new maritime robots were unveiled over the past few weeks, and both have ties to the Gulf Coast.

A quarter-scale model of General Dynamics' Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Undersea Vehicle, called "Knifefish," was unveiled at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Exposition in National Harbor, Md., during the week. It's a heavyweight-class minehunting, unmanned undersea vehicle designed for the Littoral Combat Ship mine countermeasure mission package. Panama City, Fla., was involved in developing the minehunter.

A couple of weeks ago, another robot marine vehicle, Textron's Common Unmanned Surface Vessel, was showed off in New Orleans. The 39-foot long unmanned system can navigate and patrols the high seas on its own and reach 28 knots. (Post)


History lessons
Some 35 years after the T-34 first arrived at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Fla., the Turbo Mentor had its last Whiting Field training flight during the week. The student pilot was 1st Lt. Sarah Horn, and her flight instructor Cmdr. John Hensel. Most of the remaining Whiting Field T-34s will be sent to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, where the Navy continues to train with that model. Whiting now uses the T-6B Texan II. (Post)

-- The Doolittle Raiders will hold their 71st reunion in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., next year, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. History buffs know the daring airmen trained at Eglin Field, which is now Eglin Air Force Base.

They launched 16 B-25 medium bombers from the deck of the USS Hornet in April 1942 to attack five cities in Japan. The attack, just four months after Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, boosted American morale and showed the Japanese populace their homeland was not invulnerable.

The 70th reunion was held during the week at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Four of the five surviving members of the bomber crews attended. (Post)


BRAC
In Florida during the week, an executive with the Okaloosa County Economic Development Council told the Crestview City Council that a trip to the nation's capital last month included more than 50 area leaders from five counties, according to the Crestview News Bulletin.

Kay Rasmussen, vice president of community and economic development, said the annual Northwest Florida Defense Coalition meeting included officials from Okaloosa, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Walton and Bay counties who met with government and military officials.

Topics discussed with the congressional delegation included the possibility of another Base Realignment and Closure round and the Air Force Material Command reorganization affecting the Eglin Air Force Base Air Armament Center. (Post)


Bases/airports
Longtime Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport Executive Director Bruce Frallic is retiring in August after 26 years. Frallic brgan his aviation career in 1967 in the Marine Corps. Of his 45 years in the aviation industry, 40 have been in commercial airport management. He also has worked at airports in Pensacola, Fla., and Hattiesburg, Miss. (Post)

-- The prostitution scandal in Colombia is now touching Northwest Florida. There are reports that the U.S. Southern Command is investigating the role of five soldiers from the 7th Special Forces Group, based at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Members of the Secret Service have been linked to the scandal. They are accused of bringing prostitutes to a hotel in Colombia ahead of last week's Summit of the Americas. (Post)


Crash
A twin-engine Cessna on a flight between Slidell, La., and Sarasota, Fla., crashed in the Gulf of Mexico during the week. The pilot was unresponsive for several hours and radar tracked the plane flying in loops over the Gulf of Mexico. Officials believe the pilot, the only person in the plane, was incapacitated. (Post)


Contracts
The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $9.4 million contract to procure focused lethality munitions Small Diameter Bomb I variant. The location of the performance is St. Louis, Mo. AAC/EBMK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.


Shipbuilding/maritime
Ship name: Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., wrote to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus to request a Navy ship be named after Panama City. He points out that Panama City has a long history in mine warfare beginning in 1945, according to the Panama City News Herald. (Post)

DDG 1002: The next Zumwalt-class destroyer, DDG-1002, will be named the USS Lyndon B. Johnson, after the nation's 36th president. DDG-1002 is the third ship of the Zumwalt class being built by General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works in Maine. Ingalls Shipbuilding's Gulfport, Miss., operation supplies the composite deckhouse and other composite sections for the Zumwalt class. (Post)

Ship parts: Alcoa said it's delivered a set of two aluminum Amah tips to Austal USA for use on the future Littoral Combat Ship USS Jackson. The tip is the leading edge of the all-aluminum, trimaran-type vessel's outrigger, or amah. The LCS 6 is being built in Mobile, Ala. (Post)

Week in review (4/8 to 4/14)

Word that the Pentagon will increase the use of drones over the next decade; the suspension of Fire Scout flights; the first formation sortie for Eglin F-35s; the search for a new engine for upper stage of the Space Launch System; a new research center announcement at Stennis Space Center; a defense company's layoffs; a change of command; and an airport's search for a new airline highlighted aerospace activities of interest to the Gulf Coast region during the week.


Unmanned systems
The military will increase its fleet of unmanned aerial aircraft at least 45 percent over the next 10 years. That's according to the Pentagon's 30-year aviation report as reported by Bloomberg.

The inventory of pilotless aircraft will grow from 445 in fiscal year 2013 to 645 in fiscal year 2022, and the new drones will include Northrop Grumman Global Hawks, built in part in Moss Point, Miss., as well as General Atomics' Reapers and Predators.

The Defense Department plans to spend $770 billion on aviation assets from 2013 to 2022, a figure that includes fighters, helicopters, tankers and more. (Post)

Permit me an aside here since I just mentioned tankers. Aviation Week reported that Boeing's decision to close its Wichita plant by the end of next year is causing some concern in the military. The Air Force's KC-46A program executive officer said the Wichita plant was well-suited to militarize the 767, because of decades of experience. Now that work will be done at Boeing's facilities in Puget Sound and Everett, Wash., and the government wants more details about the shift. (Story) As you know, Boeing won the tanker contract over EADS, which planned to assemble and militarize the tankers in Mobile, Ala.

OK, back to unmanned systems.

-- The Navy suspended Fire Scout flight operations while it investigates two unrelated operational accidents with the MQ-8B unmanned helicopter, which are built in part in Moss Point, Miss., by Northrop Grumman.

A Fire Scout operating off the USS Simpson late last month was ditched at sea after a mission when it was unable to lock on to the landing system. The crew later recovered the drone. Two Fire Scouts are deployed on the Simpson and provide the ship's sole aviation capability. (Previous)

Then earlier this month, a Fire Scout crashed in northern Afghanistan while on a surveillance mission.

The Navy has 14 Fire Scouts in inventory. Since 2006 Fire Scouts have accumulated more than 5,000 flight hours with more than 3,000 in operational deployments, according to the military. (Post) A Fire Scout also was also lost during fighting in Libya last summer. (Previous)


F-35
Two F-35As from the 33rd Fighter Wing had their first formation flight over Eglin Air Force Base's range April 10. The pilots, both first in their service qualified to fly the F-35, were validating pilot syllabus objectives in preparation for future training. The 33rd FW is responsible for F-35 A/B/C pilot and maintainer training for the Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and in the future, at least eight coalition partners. (Post)

Also during the week, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $258.8 million modification to the previously awarded F-35 low rate initial production Lot 5 contract, including one additional conventional take-off and landing aircraft for the Air Force and one more carrier variant aircraft for the Navy. (Post)


Space
NASA and the Air Force will study next-generation upper stage propulsion, formalizing their interest in a new upper stage engine to replace the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL-10.

Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., hopes to find a less expensive RL-10-class engine for a third stage of the Space Launch System, and the Air Force Space and Missile System Center's Launch Systems Directorate in Los Angeles hopes to replace the RL-10 engines used on the upper stage of the Atlas V and Delta IV.

Dale Thomas, Associated Director for Technical Issues at Marshall, said collaboration in a time of declining budgets helps strengthen the knowledge base and is important to keep the United States pre-eminent in space. (Post)

Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, is building portions of the Space Launch System, including the Orion crew vehicle, and Stennis Space Center, Miss., tests NASA and commercial rocket engine systems, including the J-2X and Space Shuttle Main Engine that will be used in the first two stages of the SLS.

-- Speaking of Stennis Space Center, it will be the home of the National Oceans and Applications Research Center, according to Gov. Phil Bryant. He said so during the ribbon-cutting for the Infinity Science Center.

NOARC will combine the capabilities of NASA, NOAA and the Navy to analyze and understand the Gulf of Mexico watershed and other oceans NOAA monitors. Bryant said the center will be the "Woods Hole of the South," a reference to the world-renown center in Massachusetts. (Post)

The $30 million, 72,000-square-foot Infinity Science Center, by the way, is just west of the Mississippi Welcome Center, off Interstate 10 at Exit 2, and officials expect it to be a major tourist attraction.

The center showcases the activities of NASA and the 30 agencies at NASA's nearby Stennis Space Center. Exhibits include the Science Express, Science on a Sphere and the Space Gallery. The outdoor exhibits include an F-1 rocket engine, like the ones that powered Saturn V rockets used in the Apollo program.


Bases
The heavy emphasis on cyberwarfare and other high-tech subjects taught at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., should ensure the installation plays a key role for the U.S. military into the future, a top Air Force intelligence official said in an interview with the Sun Herald.

The Air Force established undergraduate cyberspace training at Keesler in 2010. Maj. Gen. James Poss, assistant deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, said the Gulf Coast is turning into the "Cyber Coast." He pointed out that the Navy is involved in cyberwarefare training in Pensacola, Fla., two hours away. There's also cyber training at Hurlburt Field, Fla. (Post)

-- Four members of the 96th Explosive Ordnance will get five medals in a ceremony next week at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Tech Sgt. James Fitzgerald and Staff Sgt. Kelly Badger will be awarded Bronze Stars. Staff Sgts. Kevin Parke and Christopher Lacy will be awarded the Purple Heart. Parke was injured in two separate incidents in Afghanistan and will receive two Purple Hearts.

-- At Mississippi’s Camp Shelby, Col. William B. Smith Jr., has taken over as commander of the Joint Forces Training Center from Col. Robert S. Parham, who is retiring after 26 years of service. Parham had been commander nearly three years. Smith is a native of Greenville, Miss. Camp Shelby is a huge training center and has deployed thousands of troops. (Story, Hattiesburg American, WDAM)


Cuts
Defense contractor DRS Technologies laid 150 workers during the week as a result of the defense spending downturn, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. The senior vice president of public affairs said the cut was across the board in every department, including hourly employees and managers.

The company still employs about 450 people in its operation at the Fort Walton Beach Commerce and Technology Park. DRS, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., is a supplier of integrated products, services and support to military forces. (Post)


Airports
Mississippi's Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport is expected to make a decision within a month on a replacement carrier to take over for Delta Air Lines, according to the Hattiesburg American. Bids were submitted by Silver Airways and Air Choice One Airlines. Delta notified the Department of Transportation in July that it intended to drop 24 routes in smaller markets across the nation, including Hattiesburg. (Post)

-- Northwest Florida Regional Airport at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is closer to standing up the new in-house police force. Interviews were recently completed with 12 candidates. Eight will be hired, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. Airport and county officials hope to make offers in the next two to three weeks. (Post)


Contracts
The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $98.8 million contract to procure enhanced threat response redesign for the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. The work will be done in St. Louis, Mo., and to be completed by March 30, 2014. AAC/EBDK/EDBJ, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … EADS North America, Herndon, Va., was awarded a $12.8 million contract to provide contractor logistic support services. Work will be done in Columbus, Miss., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2012. … Roy Anderson Group, Gulfport, Miss., was awarded a $25.9 million contract for construction of a terminal high altitude area defense instructional facility at Fort Sill, Okla. Work will be done in Lawton, Okla., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 1, 2014. … L&M Welding, Mobile, Ala., was issued a fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract with a maximum $8.5 million for torch repair kits. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. The date of performance completion is April 8, 2014.


Shipbuilding/maritime
Avondale: Huntington Ingalls Industries is sticking to plans to close its Avondale shipyard near New Orleans, the company's chief executive officer said in an interview in Bloomberg. Shipbuilding will end at Avondale by mid- to late-2013, after it delivers its last amphibious ship. The company is consolidating its Gulf Coast work at the company's shipyards in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss. (Post)

Sub: The nuclear-powered attack submarine, Mississippi (SSN-782), returned to the Electric Boat shipyard in Groton, Conn., after its first voyage in open seas. Mississippi conducted high-speed runs on and under the surface. Mississippi, ninth ship of the Virginia Class, will be commissioned June 2 in Pascagoula, Miss. (Post)

Tug: Horizon Shipbuilding of Bayou La Batre, Ala., has delivered an inland river tugboat to the Army Corps of Engineers. The 58-foot M/V General Irwin will be used in operations and maintenance work. (Post)

Week in review (4/1 to 4/7)

A commercial spaceport somewhere in the state of Alabama? That state is a big player in the space industry, thanks to Huntsville, home of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the Army's missile activities.

According to reports during the week, Alabama lawmakers are looking at creating a spaceport authority to look at the possibility of seeking FAA approval to set up a spaceport. Nobody has said where it might go, but there are some strict requirements.

The launch site has to have access to useful orbits, and public safety is a big consideration. That means the spaceport would have to be far from major cities in case of a catastrophic failure. Most launch sites are built close to bodies of water to ensure that should a failure occur, no components fall over populated areas.

The Federal Aviation Administration so far has licensed eight non-federal launch sites in California, Florida, Virginia, Alaska, New Mexico and Oklahoma. California Spaceport received the first FAA approval in 1996, and the first one licensed that's not co-located with a government launch site is the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska.

This isn't the first time Alabama has thought about this. There was "Spaceport Alabama" with a program office at Jacksonville State University. But according to the FAA, no legislative activity took place and the Alabama Commission on Aerospace appears inactive. In fact, the FAA lists eight proposed spaceports that have made little or no progress.

Spaceports are designed to launch orbital or suborbital vehicles into space, and often provide the ability to integrate launch vehicle components and payloads, according to the FAA. Launches are vertical, but Cecil Field Spaceport near Jacksonville, Fla.,, Mojave Air and Space Port in California and Oklahoma Spaceport and Spaceport America also have runways.

It makes sense for Alabama to pursue this, even thought it could be years away. Commercial space flights are a reality, and the field will grow. For Alabama, the coast certainly represents one option. There have been rocket launches from Eglin Air Force Base. Cape San Blas in Northwest Florida's Gulf County was mentioned back in the late '80s as a possible site for a Florida spaceport. According to the fiscal year 2011 base structure report, the Air Force’s Cape San Blas Missile Tracking Annex D-3 is some 679 acres.

This may be an opportunity for the states with a piece of the Gulf Coast Interstate 10 region to look at working together to see if they can come up with a site that they could all back. We have portions of the new Space Launch System being built at Michoud Assembly in New Orleans, rocket engine testing at Stennis Space Center, Miss., the tracking of space objects at Eglin Air Force Base. Maybe it's time for a launch pad.

-- While on the subject of space, there were some important NASA appointments formally announced during the past week. Arthur E. "Gene" Goldman is now the acting director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. He had been serving as deputy director, and before that he was director of Stennis Space Center, Miss.

In addition, Robert Champion was appointed deputy director of Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where he was acting deputy director and chief operations officer from 2010 until this latest appointment. Prior to that announcement, NASA said that Chris M. Crumbly was appointed director of Michoud, where he had been deputy director from March 2011. (Post)


Unmanned systems
Navy Fire Scout unmanned helicopters will be getting smarter when it comes to tracking down modern-day pirates. That's because of an Office of Naval Research-funded project that will help the robots helicopters autonomously distinguish pirate boats from other vessels.

The Navy plans to upgrade Fire Scouts with the Multi-Mode Sensor Seeker, a mix of cameras, infrared sensors and LIDAR that will provide 3-D laser images. The MMSS is designed to reduce the workload of sailors operating Fire Scouts from control stations aboard Navy ships. Testing begins this summer off the coast of California.

Fire Scouts are built in Moss Point, Miss., by Northrop Grumman, and they'll eventually be used on board the Navy's Littoral Combat Ships, a version of which is being built in Mobile, Ala., by Austal USA. (Post)

-- Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss., is among eight sites in the company’s Aerospace Systems sector to earn International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 registration. It also received the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001 certification for managing employees' health and safety in the workplace. (Post)


F-35
A Navy squadron disestablished in 2005 is being re-established. Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101) will have a stand-up ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., next month. The original Fighter Squadron 101 was established in 1952 and flew various aircraft, including the F-4 Phantom and F-14 Tomcat.

VFA-101, which will serve as the Fleet Replacement Squadron, will training pilots and maintainers for the fleet. It's part of the 33rd Fighter Wing, a joint-service wing responsible for F-35 A/B/C pilot and maintenance training. Eglin will eventually have 59 of the F-35s and three flying squadrons, one for each service's aircraft variant. The F-35 Academic Training Center serves as the schoolhouse, where the wing will train more than 2,000 maintenance students and 100 pilots each year. (Post)

-- The first F-35 for The Netherlands rolled out of the F-35 production facility earlier this month in Fort Worth, Texas. It will eventual be assignment to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., home of the F-35 training center. The Netherlands will use the conventional takeoff and landing jet, known as AN-1, for training and operational tests for pilots and maintainers. AN-1 will undergo functional fuel system checks before being transported to the flight line for ground and flight tests in the coming weeks. (Post)

-- Northrop Grumman's first F-35 center fuselage produced by its auto-industry inspired Integrated Assembly Line in Palmdale, Calif., was delivered to Lockheed Martin last month. The company has delivered 69 center fuselages since 2005, but this is the first from the IAL.

The IAL was developed and designed with the help of the Detroit-based KUKA Robotics Aerospace Division, a commercial automation integrator. Northrop Grumman is a member of the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 industry team. (Post)


EADS
EADS North America unveiled its Armed Aerial Scout 72X+ (AAS-72X+) at the annual Army Aviation Association of America convention in Nashville, Tenn. The armed derivative of the Army’s UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter will be built by the company's American Eurocopter business unit in Columbus, Miss. EADS is one of several competitors for the program to replace the OH-58 Kiowa Warriors. (Post)


Lawsuit
Continental Motors has been accused of making a defective engine that caused a 2010 plane crash that killed a jogger on the beach in Hilton Head, S.C. Attorneys for the Mobile, Ala.-based manufacturer, know as Teledyne Continental Motors before its sale to China’s AVIC last year, say the engine had nothing to do with the accident, according to the Mobile Press-Register. (Post)


BRAC
The BRAC process would look like the 2005 round under the legislative proposal the Defense Department sent to Congress for base closure rounds in 2013 and 2015. The process for appointing commissioners, milestones and reports DOD must meet and more are essentially unchanged from the last round, based on a preliminary analysis of DoD’s 36-page proposal. Lawmakers have made it clear that they have no appetite to authorize a BRAC round in 2013, according to Defense Communities 360. (Post)


Airport
Okaloosa County airport officials hope to secure $12 million in federal stimulus money to build a road that would connect Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview, Fla., to U.S. Highway 90. The money is part of $500 million that will be made available through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery program, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. (Post)


Contracts
ALFAB Inc., Enterprise, Ala., was awarded a not-to-exceed $150 million contract for the procurement of AM-2 matting packages: F-71, F-72, F-73, and F-78 for the expeditionary airfield. AM-2 matting is designed to interlock in a brickwork type pattern and provides for the construction of portable runways and taxiways for aircraft launch and recovery. Work will be performed in Enterprise, Ala., and is expected to be completed in April 2017. … Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Aerospace Systems, Melbourne, Fla., was awarded a $27 million modification to previously awarded contract for the procurement of the AN/AES-1 Airborne Laser Mine Detection System low rate initial production. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity.


Shipbuilding/maritime
Materials: An Office of Naval Research-funded project is producing a full-size ship hull section made with marine grade titanium using a welding innovation that could help bring titanium into future ship construction. Researchers at the University of New Orleans School of Naval Architecture and Textron Marine and Land Systems are demonstrating the project, and expect to have a complete hull this summer. The work is being done at the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing in New Orleans, which is a partnership between UNO, NASA and Louisiana. (Post)

Contract: Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., was awarded a $50 million modification to previously awarded contract for procurement of additional long lead time material in support of the LHA replacement, Flight 0, amphibious assault ship, LHA 7. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to complete by May 2013.