NASA and its Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans were honored by the Louisiana State Legislature May 7 during NASA Louisiana Aerospace Day 2014 events at the Capitol in Baton Rouge.
Lawmakers and state officials met with Michael Kynard, deputy director of Michoud, with astronaut Dr. Jeanette Epps and other NASA officials. Proclamations in the House and Senate recognized the Michoud facility’s critical role in future space exploration, in the nation’s space history and in the state’s economy and cultural life.
A number of NASA exhibits and activities at the Capitol rotunda and on the Capitol lawn conveyed a vivid picture of work now underway on the Space Launch System (SLS) — the most powerful rocket in history and the vehicle that will take astronauts to Mars; on science missions aboard the International Space Station; and on additive manufacturing and 3-D printing technologies helping develop aerospace technology faster and at lower costs.
“Together We Make Bold Things Happen” was the theme for NASA Louisiana Aerospace Day. Students from the Louisiana State University College of Engineering in Baton Rouge displayed some of the research they are conducting with NASA and the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing, which is located at Michoud. Marshall Center representatives visited a number of schools and nonprofit organizations in New Orleans to talk with students about robotics, technology, careers in aerospace and the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
“Our partners in the Legislature, industry and education have always been important to NASA and Michoud Assembly Facility,” Kynard said. “Today, the highly skilled workforce at Michoud is building the core stage of SLS — America’s next great ship, the most powerful rocket in history.
“SLS is on schedule to carry astronauts deeper into space than ever before and eventually to Mars,” he said. “It was exciting to talk with lawmakers and officials about Louisiana’s role in space exploration, and how Michoud — one of the world’s largest manufacturing facilities — is also host to a number of government and high-tech commercial tenants.”
For more information about Michoud, visit us on the Web:
www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/michoud
The Marshall Center is one of NASA’s largest field installations, with nearly 6,000 on- and near-site civil service and contractor employees and an annual budget of about $2 billion.
For more information about the Marshall Center, visit us on the Web:
Angela Storey
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-714-4370
angela.d.storey@nasa.gov