NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

---

December 13, 2012	NASA engineers at Stennis Space Center take another step toward human exploration of new destinations in the solar system with the final test-firing of the J-2X powerpack assembly, an important component of America’s next heavy-lift rocket.
December 13, 2012	For the second consecutive year, Stennis Space Center ranks at the top of NASA centers and second out of 292 federal organizations as the best place to work in the federal government, according to a Partnership for Public Service survey.
November 5-9, 2012	NASA records an historic week in the E Test Complex at Stennis Space Center, conducted tests on three different rocket engines/components on three E Complex test stands. The 27 total tests included firings on all three stands during a 24, hour period Nov. 6-7 and a nine-hour-plus period on Nov. 8.
September 25, 2012	Dr. Richard Gilbrech named center director.
August 16, 2012	Stennis marks a historic moment with the first instance of two female engineers conducting rocket engine tests on the same day at the facility.
July 24, 2012	NASA engineers conduct a 1,350-second test of the J-2X powerpack at Stennis Space Center, marking the longest-duration test firing in the facility's A Test Complex. The test broke a record of 1,150 seconds, which engineers had set just weeks earlier during a June 8 powerpack firing.
June 25, 2012	A series of tests are conducted in Stennis' E Test Complex on a new Project Morpheus engine. The liquid methane, liquid oxygen engine will power the Morpheus prototype lander, which could one day evolve to carry cargo safely to the moon, asteroids or Mars surfaces.
April 20, 2012	NASA Administrator Charles Bolden present the space agency’s Small Business Administrator's Cup Award to Stennis Space Center in recognition of its stellar small business program for fiscal year 2011.
April 11, 2012	Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant announces the National Oceans and Applications Research Center will locate at Stennis Space Center. The world-class facility will harness the resources of NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Navy teams to give scientists a "space to sea floor" understanding of the Gulf of Mexico and other oceans.
April 11, 2012	The ribbon is cut for the opening of the INFINITY at NASA Stennis Space Center facility. The 72,000-square-foot visitor center features space and Earth science artifacts and activities.
February 15, 2012	Stennis Space Center begins a series of tests on the new J-2X powerpack component to provide critical data for development of the new rocket engine that will carry humans deeper into space than ever.
December 14, 2011	NASA engineers conclude the initial 10-test series of firings at Stennis Space Center on the next-generation J-2X rocket engine that will help power NASA's new Space Launch System.
November 16, 2011	Stennis Space Center ranks at the top of NASA centers and second out of 240 federal organizations as the best place to work in the federal government, according to a Partnership for Public Service survey.
November 9, 2011	Stennis Space Center conducts its first 500-second test of the next-generation J-2X rocket engine, marking an important step forward in its development. The directors of seven NASA agencies are present to view the test.
October 25, 2011	Stennis Space Center leaders and employees plant a time capsule to culminate a year of activities celebrating its 50th anniversary. NASA publicly announced plans to build the rocket engine test site on Oct. 25, 1961.
August 24, 2011	NASA marks official transfer of 1.6 million square feet of facility space from the U.S. Army to Stennis Space Center, setting the stage for years of major expnasion at the south Mississippi site.
August 11, 2011	Stennis employees mark the end of the 30-year-old Space Shuttle Program with a "wheels stop" celebration during the visit of the STS-135 space shuttle Atlantis crew.
July 26, 2011	Stennis conducts a successful engine start test on the next-generation J-2X rocket engine, marking the start of the third major test series for the historic A-2 Test Stand.
July 21, 2011	Space shuttle Atlantis completes the STS-135 mission, its final flight into space and the final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. The shuttle was powered into orbit for the mission by space shuttle main engines No. 2047, No. 2060 and No. 2045, all three of which were tested and proven flightworthy at Stennis Space Center.
June 1, 2011	Space shuttle Endeavour completes the STS-134 mission, its final flight into space. The shuttle was powered into orbit for the mission by space shuttle main engines No. 2052, No. 2061 and No. 2057, all three of which were tested and proven flightworthy at Stennis Space Center.
May 2, 2011	The main NASA administration building at Stennis Space Center is named in memory of late site Director Roy S. Estess. Stennis officials also announced establishment of the annual Roy S. Estess Public Service Leadership Award.
March 9, 2011	Space shuttle Discovery completes the STS-133 mission, its final flight to space. The shuttle was powered into orbit for the mission by space shuttle main engines No. 2044, No. 2048 and No. 2058, all three of which were tested and proven flight-worthy at Stennis Space Center.
February 7, 2011	NASA Administrator Charles Bolden visits Stennis Space Center to view the test firing of an Aerojet AJ26 rocket engine to be used by Orbital Sciences Corporation to power commercial cargo flights to the International Space Station.
November 17, 2010	Stennis and community leaders celebrate the "topping out" of the INFINITY at NASA Stennis Space Center, a 72,000-square-foot science and education center set to open in 2012.
November 10, 2010	Stennis conducts the first successful test firing of the Aerojet AJ26 rocket engine for Orbital Sciences Corporation. AJ26 engines will power Orbital's Taurus II space vehicle on commercial cargo flights to the International Space Station.
November 9, 2010	Stennis launches a yearlong 50th anniversary celebration with the first presentation in its Legends Lecture Series. NASA publicly announced plans to build a rocket engine test facility in Hancock County, Miss. on Oct. 25, 1961.
August 24, 2010	NASA officials cut the ribbon on a new Records Retention Facility at Stennis Space Center to consolidate and protect records storage at the site. With the ceremony, Stennis became the first NASA center to open a facility compliant with all National Archives and Records Administration specifications and storage criteria.
August 2010	The education team at Stennis Space Center develops Mass vs. Weight, its first-ever teaching curriculum. It offers a series of hands-on activities for grades five through eight to help educate students about differences in the mass and weight concepts.
Mid-July 2010	Installation of the test cell and diffuser at Stennis' A-3 Test Stand get under way, a major milestone in construction of the new test structure.
July 14, 2010	An Aerojet AJ26 rocket engine is delivered for installation at the E-1 Test Stand as part of Stennis' partnership to help Orbital Sciences Corporation provide commercial cargo transportation missions to the International Space Station.
April 20, 2010	Retired astronaut Fred Haise, a Biloxi native, visits Stennis to help employees mark the 40th anniversary of his famous Apollo 13 mission.
March 1, 2010	Patrick Scheuermann named center director.
February 24, 2010	Stennis unveils a partnership with Orbital Sciences Corp. to test AJ26 engines to power commercial cargo transport flights to the International Space Station.
December 2, 2009	Biloxi native and Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise is presented NASA's Ambassador of Excellence Award during a ceremony at Gorenflo Elementary School in Biloxi.
July 29, 2009	The last scheduled test of a space shuttle main engine is conducted at the A-2 Test Stand.
July 2, 2009	Construction of the A-3 Test Stand marks a milestone with completion of a pair of transfer docks to be used for delivery of rocket propellants (or fuel).
June 2, 2009	The new Emergency Operations Center is officially opened as Gov. Haley Barbour; Charles Scales, NASA associate deputy administrator; Gene Goldman, Stennis director, and other officials conduct a ribbon cutting ceremony. The 78,688-square-foot facility houses the medical clinic, fire department, security services, energy management control system and incident command post.
April 9, 2009	Structural steel work is completed on the A-3 Test Stand. The final beam was ceremoniously placed atop the structure as more than 100 guests and workers looked on.
November 20, 2008	Arthur E. 'Gene' Goldman named center director.
October 24, 2008	Fabricated steel begins arriving by truck for construction of the A-3 Test Stand that will be used to test the engine for the nation's next generation of moon rockets. Structural steel work would begin Oct. 29.
October 22, 2008	A flight certification test on engine 2061, the last space shuttle main flight engine scheduled to be built, is conducted on the A-2 Test Stand.
October 1, 2008	The last flight engine scheduled for testing at Stennis (Engine 2061), arrives.
May 8, 2008	Engineers at NASA's Stennis Space Center successfully completed the first series of tests on Powerpack 1A as part of early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets, key components of NASA's Constellation Program. The test hardware consisted of J-2 components used from the Apollo program in the 1960s through the X-33 program of the 1990s.
May 3, 2008	NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center Director Robert D. Cabana joins a distinguished list of American space heroes with his induction into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at Kennedy Space Center.
January 31, 2008	A gas generator ignition test on the A-1 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center marks first hotfire test on Powerpack 1A of the J-2X engine being designed for NASA's Constellation Program.
December 18, 2007	A "chill test" on the A-1 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center signals the beginning of testing on Powerpack 1A of the J-2X engine being designed for NASA's Constellation Program.
September 30, 2007	Robert D. Cabana assumes the position of Center Director.
September 19, 2007	Core components, known as Powerpack 1A, of the J-2X engine being designed for NASA's Constellation Program are installed on the A-1 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center.
August 23, 2007	NASA officials and government leaders participate in the official ground-breaking event for the A-3 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center. Taking part in the event were Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Senator Thad Cochran, Senator Trent Lott, Representative Gene Taylor, NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Scott Horowitz, and Stennis Space Center Director Rick Gilbrech.
June 13, 2007	Tree clearing begins for the site of the new A-3 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center.
May 1, 2007	NASA announces decision to build a new test stand at Stennis Space Center for the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of NASA's Ares I and Ares V rockets. The 300-foot-tall test stand with an open-frame design will allow engineers to simulate conditions at different altitudes.
November 9, 2006	Stennis Space Center's A-1 Test Stand officially handed over to NASA's Constellation Program for testing the J-2X engine that will power upper stage of the new crew launch vehicle, Ares I, and the Earth departure stage of the new cargo launch vehicle, Ares V.
September 29, 2006	Stennis Space Center conducts the final space shuttle main engine test on its A-1 Test Stand.
June 5, 2006	NASA announces center responsibilities associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human moon and Mars exploration. Stennis manages and integrates rocket propulsion testing for the Crew Launch Vehicle Project. Stennis leads sea-level development, certification, and acceptance testing for the upper stage engine, sea-level development testing for the upper stage main propulsion test article, and sea-level acceptance testing for the flight upper stage assembly.
April 21, 2006	A space shuttle main engine test marks the 40th anniversary of the first engine test at the center.
January 23, 2006	Dr. Richard Gilbrech named center director.
September 13, 2005	Bill Parsons named center director.
August 29, 2005	Hurricane Katrina makes landfall, battering Southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Maps of its track show Katrina's eye moved up the Pearl River and passed directly over Stennis Space Center.
August 11, 2005	A Space Shuttle Main Engine test marks the 30th anniversary of SSME testing at SSC.
October 5, 2004	SSC ships the last of Space Shuttle Discovery's three main engines to Kennedy Space Center, Florida, for NASA's Return to Flight following the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia. All three of Space Shuttle Discovery's main engines were tested and proven flight-worthy at SSC. Discovery's STS-114 mission launched July 26, 2005 and safely landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on Aug. 9, 2005.
January 21, 2004	Space Shuttle Main Engine reaches a significant milestone of one million seconds of test and flight operations during a test firing at SSC.
January 5, 2004	Rear Admiral Thomas Q. Donaldson, V (Ret.) assumes the position of Center Director.
May 9, 2003	Michael Rudolphi named Interim Director.
May 9, 2003	Bill Parsons selected as the manager for the Space Shuttle Program.
August 25, 2002	NASA's Bill Parsons named Center Director.
August 24, 2002	Roy Estess retired as Center Director.
August 5, 2002	Ribbon cutting ceremonies for three facilities, valued at more than $60 million, were held at SSC for the Lockheed Martin Mississippi Space and Technology Center, the Naval Small Craft Instructional and Technical Training School and Special Boat Unit 22 and the Naval Oceanographic Office Warfighting Support and Survey Operations Center.
April 8, 2002	The launch of STS-110 marks a milestone for NASA and for SSC as this flight was the first to use a full complement of the Block II configuration of the Space Shuttle Main Engine.
November, 2001	The E-Complex successfully completed the first phase in an important test series for the integrated powerhead demonstrator (IPD) liquid oxgygen turbopump. The IPD program is developing new technologies for NASA's second-generation propulsion systems.
August 6, 2001	SSC conducted the final test of a three-part test series of Electro-Mechanical Actuator technology used on the former X-33 program's Linear Aerospike XRS-2200 flight engine. The series was conducted as part of NASA's Space Launch Initiative.
May 22, 2001	StenniSphere recognized its 250,000th visitor.
May 2001	The E-Complex began work on nearly $24 million worth of upgrades.
April 21, 2001	SSC opened its doors to more than 13,000 visitors for the first-ever public night test firing of a Space Shuttle Main Engine.
September 29, 2000	A $25 million construction project begins for Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School and Special Boat Unit 22 in support of Navy SEAL activity.
September 1, 2000	Lockheed Martin Propulsion, Thermal and Metrology Center at Stennis announced.
August 8, 1998	All four test positions occupied for the first time in center's history.
July 27, 1998	Activation initiated of E-1 Component Test Facility, world class high-pressure component cryogenic facility.
April 15, 1998	Navy's Major Shared Resource Center (MSRC) dedicated and officially Named the Trent Lott Supercomputing and Visualization Institute.
February 21, 1997	SSC designated as NASA's lead center for implementing commercial Remote sensing activities.
July 2, 1996	NASA Headquarters announces SSC will conduct and manage engine Component testing for the X-33 for the RLV program.
May 30, 1996	NASA designates SSC as lead center to manage capabilities and assets for rocket propulsion testing.
May 19, 1996	Endeavor is the first Space Shuttle to fly three Block I SSMEs, all tested at SSC.
March 16, 1996	First test conducted on a sub-scale cryogenic fuel tank for the X-33 Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program.
May 26, 1995	SSC completes testing on new Block I configuration SSME.
May 1, 1994	SSME test operations program management transferred from Marshall Space Flight Center to SSC.
August 11, 1993	High Heat Flux Facility dedicated. The facility tests materials to be used for hypersonic spacecraft of the future.
July 24, 1992	Space Shuttle Main Engine program achieves 2,000th test firing.
December 30, 1991	NASA Administrator designates SSC Center of Excellence for large propulsion system testing.
August 20, 1990	First time SSME tests are conducted on all three test stands in one day.
January 18, 1989	Construction begins on the Component Test Facility to test turbopump machinery for rocket propulsion systems.
May 20, 1988	NSTL renamed John C. Stennis Space Center by Executive order of President Ronald Reagan.
May 9, 1988	NSTL assigned key role for space remote sensing commercialization.
February 25, 1988	NSTL conducts 1,000th test firing of Space Shuttle Main Engine.
June 11, 1987	Mississippi Technology Transfer Center dedication held.
April 21, 1978	First system test of Space Shuttle Main Propulsion Test Article conducted-including three SSMEs tested simultaneously.
March 1978	Earth Resources Laboratory Applications Software (ELAS) developed at NSTL and implemented worldwide.
May 28, 1976	Flag-raising ceremony marks the official move of the Naval Oceanographic Program to NSTL.
June 24, 1975	First Space Shuttle Main Engine tested at NSTL to go full duration without an early shutdown.
June 12, 1975	First Space Shuttle Main Engine tested at NSTL to achieve ignition.
May 19, 1975	First Space Shuttle Main Engine test at NSTL. Test did not include ignition.
June 14, 1974	MTF renamed National Space Technology Laboratories (NSTL).
March 1, 1971	Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) testing assigned to MTF.
September 9, 1970	NASA announces Earth Resources Laboratory will locate at MTF.
April 23, 1966	First Saturn V rocket booster (S-II-T) tested at Mississippi Test Facility.
July 1, 1965	MTO designated Mississippi Test Facility (MTF).
May 17, 1963	Workmen cut first tree to start clearing the test area for construction.
April 18, 1962	Army Corps of Engineers opens real estate project office to begin land acquisition negotiations.
December 18, 1961	Site officially named Mississippi Test Operations (MTO).
October 25, 1961	NASA announces decision to establish national rocket test site in Hancock County, Mississippi.
May 25, 1961	President John F. Kennedy sets goal of sending a man to the moon before the decade is out.

---

Responsible NASA Official: Paul Foerman, SSC Public Affairs Office