Mississippi Enterprise for Technology Newsletter

May 2011

Greetings! 

 

Stennis Space Center master plan highlighted 

 

The 20-year master plan for Stennis Space Center (SSC) envisions renovations to older buildings that are reaching the 50-year-old mark, as well as the expansion of the marine operations and data center areas and growth in university activities at the federal facility.

 

Ron Magee, Assistant to the Director/Emergency Director, NASA Center Operations Directorate, discussed the master plan during the April 14 Lunch and Learn hosted by the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MSET).

 

The monthly lunches bring in speakers to address subjects of interest to MSET members, and the talk by Magee was the first time the master plan was discussed at a public event. Charles Beasley, president and CEO of MSET, said the topic was of interest because the master plan is a roadmap and vision for the future.

 

MSET, which serves as an incubator and technology transfer office, is also interested in economic development issues. It aims to leverage the assets of SSC to provide more economic opportunities for the region, Beasley said.

 

In talking about the future of Stennis Space Center, Magee noted that the federal facility's proximity to Interstates 10, 12 and 59 makes it very attractive to aerospace companies looking to locate in the region. "It's a good place to be," he said.

 

But few discussions about SSC can occur without an explanation of the importance of the 125,000 acre buffer zone that surrounds the 14,000-acre complex. Magee addressed that right at the start of his talk. He said the buffer protects the outside community from the noise associated with rocket testing, and NASA is very protective of the zone.

 

Stennis Space Center is divided into multiple areas designed for specific activities, like the rocket engine test area. Most of the land at SSC is rocket-testing related, and some areas won't be developed because they are in the path of exhausts from the rocket testing.

 

Other portions of SSC are the "administrative" area, a mixture of office, labs and public spaces; "public outreach," which is actually located outside the gate at the Infinity Science Center, which is still being built; marine operations; data operations; and the "lab" area, where calibration work and science labs are located that do gas and environmental analysis.

 

"We also have some small outfits in there that are doing rocketry work because the space is available," said Magee.

 

Today there is also a "maintenance and logistics" area, with warehouses, shops, and operations that put things together, like the instrumentation work done by the U.S. Geological Survey. And there's also an "assembly" area, where the Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant is located.

 

The plant, with over 400,000 square feet of available space, will be turned over to NASA July 1.

 

"This is where assembly operations go on. The Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne assembly operations are located here," Magee said. Passports and other critical documents are also made in this area by the Government Printing Office, which is in "a growth mode."

 

"What will change is that what we were calling assembly operations is now turning into more an industrial services area," said Magee. In addition, some of the shops and warehousing that had been in the maintenance area will move to the new industrial services area over time.

 

"So this will be a combination of industrial type services, rocket engine assembly, passport assembly, as well as other industrial and supporting processes for our rocket engine program," he said. It will happen over the next 20 years.

 

At least two areas, marine operations and data operations, are expected to grow.

 

"The marine operations will actually take over a much larger portion of Stennis Space Center," said Magee. That's because of the expected increase in Navy activities there that rely on the water access.

 

The marine operations area is home of the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School and the Navy's Special Boat Team 22, part of the Navy's Special Warfare Command - the naval component of the U.S. Special Operations Command.

 

This secluded part of Stennis and the surrounding buffer zone is where Navy SEALs train with SBT 22, a highly specialized unit composed of Special Warfare Combatant Craft crew members. They use armed, special warfare boats for insertion and extraction of SEAL teams.

 

The marine operations area is also where NOAA works on data buoys.

 

Also expected to grow is the area designated for data operations. It's the location of the National Center for Critical Information Processing and Storage, and the immediate area could grow as other data centers consider locating there, said Magee.

 

Over the next 20 years there will be a lot of work to refurbish or renovate buildings. He said 50 years is the "magic number" for most general office buildings before they need to be rehabilitated, repaired or replaced.

 

"We're at that age," Magee said, noting that a lot of buildings date to the Apollo program.

 

He said it could mean seeing buildings gutted to the studs and brought back with new features, or entirely new buildings. That's a big change, and it will happen if all the funding profiles work out, he said. One possibility is multi-use, reconfigurable buildings to meet changing needs.

 

The A-3 test stand is a good example, he said, of construction that is reconfigurable depending on the rocket of the future sent Stennis' way.

 

Magee noted that the University of Southern Mississippi has a "major" presence with three buildings at Stennis Space Center. Mississippi State University and its research component is adding another 50,000 square-foot building to increase its presence, with plans for another one in the works.

 

"Universities are going to be a major component," said Magee. "We need the university research. We need those bright minds that can help us infuse new technology and help us meet future demand. We actually have companies that are looking at locating here ... and one of the factors is that they can have university-based research done to help them improve their product over the long term.

 

"This is a very great selling point for us, and it also is a great resource for people who work out here so they can get some advanced education and be able to better themselves," he said.

 

Magee also touched on the acreage that's been designed a "Project Ready" technology park.

 

"Technology parks don't look like industrial parks," said Magee. He said the plan is to still keep 30 to 40 percent of the Center's acreage green, with pockets of development. He said that while SSC identified 3,900 acres as ready for development, that's not all that's available.

 

"It doesn't mean that we still won't develop in another area, but why would we do that if we have plenty of area already available along those roadways?" he said. "Our first mission is to do what I call infill, we'll in-fill as much as we can, and then if a project warrants we'll go out into a new untouched area that's OK to develop." 
 

 

We hope that you found our featured article very informative. If you would like to learn more about the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology, please contact us at (228) 688-3144 or www.mset.org.

 

 

 

ceb_photo Sincerely,


 

Charlie Beasley signature 
Charlie Beasley, President and CEO
Mississippi Enterprise for Technology
  
 

 

Raytheon Technical Services Co. joins MsET Community at Stennis Space Center

 

The Mississippi Enterprise for Technology is pleased to welcome Raytheon Technical Services Co. to  its business community of advanced technology companies located  at  Stennis  Space Center.

 

Raytheon Technical Services Company provides a full spectrum of technical, scientific and professional services to its defense, federal, international, and commercial customers worldwide. It specializes in training, logistics, engineering, product support, and operational support services and solutions for the Mission Support, homeland security, space, civil aviation, counter proliferation and counterterrorism markets. RTSC operates on all seven continents, employees 9,500 employees and realized $3.2 billion in sales in 2010.
 

RTSC customers include all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, and other agencies of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as international governments.


 

In This Issue
Raytheon Technical Services Co. Joins MsET Community at SSC
Upcoming Events
SSC Rotary Club
Stennis Business & Technology Digest

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Upcoming Events

 

June 1, 2011

Venture Development Academy: Investor-Ready Deals

The Innovation Center, 1636 Popps Ferry Road, Biloxi, MS

Link to Details...

 

June 9, 2011

MSET Lunch & Learn

Herman Glazier Conference, Bldg 1103, Stennis Space Center, MS

Link to Details...

 

June 21-22, 2011

Stennis Business Consortium (SBC) General Mtg. & Small Business Technology Expo

Building 1200 & Building 1100, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529

Link to Details...

 

June 27, 2011

MSET Service Provider Seminar - Michael Rich, Pinnacle Financial Group

Herman Glazier Conference, Bldg 1103, Stennis Space Center, MS

Link to Details...

 

 

Rotary Club of Stennis Space Center  

rotary emblem

 

Meets every Tuesday
Herman Glazier Room
Bldg. 1103
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Newcomers and guest welcome!

 

More details: www.stennisrotary.org
 
Stennis Business & Technology Digest
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Stennis Space Center is a well know landmark on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but not many people truly understand what really goes on inside the secure gates of the 1400 acre campus.

 

Originally established as a rocket engine test center for NASA, Stennis today, is one of the largest federal cities in the nation. Over 30 federal and state agencies as well as a variety of companies involved in a host of fields. The variety is surprising from space-related work to riverine warfare training and more.

 

Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MsET) is a business incubator and technology transfer office located at Stennis. More recently MsET took on the additional job of playing a role in the economic development of Stennis Space Center. As part of this role, MsET wants to do what it can to tell the Stennis Space Center story. That means highlighting the accomplishments, successes and innovative work of the organizations located at Stennis Space Center. But in an age of information overload, it's a challenge simply to be heard above all the noise.

 

MsET decided to create the Stennis Business and Technology Digest, a  news feed communicating some of the activities that occur at Stennis Space Center, not just at MsET. This is in no way a bid to usurp the separate communications activities of the various organizations at Stennis. We see the news feed as a vehicle to insure those valuable communications reach a wider audience.

 

MsET monitors and pulls together in digest form all the announcements and notices coming from NASA, the Navy, NOAA, the universities and any of the other organizations that call Stennis home. The news is provided in a brief format, with links to the original source of the information.

  
You'll be amazed by the contributions made by Stennis Space Center that benefit the region, the nation and the world. Visit the MsET Web site Home page to subscribe to the news feed and increase your understanding of Stennis Space Center.
 
About Mississippi Enterprise for Technology

 

Mississippi Enterprise for Technology is a unique economic development organization within Stennis Space Center.
  
MsET is also a technology transfer office and incubator uniquely positioned to grow companies by providing a supportive environment, business services and access to federal agencies and research facilities.
  
The organization is charged with developing and attracting new business and employment opportunities to John C. Stennis Space Center and the region.
  
The organization seeks to improve and strengthen the center's business climate utilizing business resources from the region. For more information on MsET, or to see upcoming events visit www.mset.org.
  
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LOCATE YOUR BUSINESS AT STENNIS SPACE CENTER
GAIN ACCESS TO FEDERAL AGENCIES
POSITION YOUR BUSINESS FOR SUCCESS
 
Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MsET) is located at John C. Stennis Space Center, the foremost center for innovation in Southeast Mississippi and one of the nation's largest federal cities. MsET is uniquely positioned to facilitate your company's growth by providing a supportive environment, business services and access to federal agencies and research facilities.

We are currently offering prime office space at low rates in the heart of Stennis Space Center. Seize this rare opportunity and put your start-up or small business on the fast track to success.

Contact us today. Space is limited.
 
Contact: Belinda Gill, Facilities Manager, belinda.n.gill@nasa.gov, telephone: 228-688-3144