By Budd McLaughlin, The Huntsville TimesThe Huntsville Times 

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Less than a week after announcing a new venture into the commercial space market, Teledyne Brown Engineering has added a face to its emerging space branch.

Dr. John Horack is leaving his post as vice president of research at the University of Alabama in Huntsville to head Teledyne's Space Systems Division, the company announced today.

"He's kind of a triple threat," said Teledyne President Rex Geveden. "He's been great with NASA, a top official in academia and he founded a business."

Horack was director of the Science and Mission Systems Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center before joining UAH. He was also a co-founder, executive and board member of Mobular Technologies, a software technology company founded in 2000.

"We had the opportunity to get John," Geveden said, "and the timing was right."

Last week, Teledyne, which employs about 1,200 people in Huntsville, said it would design and build a system to house cameras on the International Space Station that will point toward Earth.

About a month ago, Aerojet and Teledyne unveiled Aerojet's AJ26 liquid rocket engine at Teledyne's manufacturing facility on Sparkman Drive. In 2011, the two companies announced a partnership to manufacture rocket engines in Huntsville.

 

Lyons said the grant will allow the port authority to begin site stabilization tests in the next few weeks, but it still needs to generate $14 million to $16 million from other sources to finish out the budget for the project.

"This is the fourth time we've applied for a grant," Lyons said. "We're pleased to see that DOT values the ports and the importance of utilizing intermodal to take some of the stress off U.S. highways. From an engineering stand point, we're well ahead of the game."

 

It was announced today that DOT had approved the grant for Phase 1 of the rail project, expected to create 322 direct jobs in logistics, handling, trucking and rail work. 

The project will reduce the cost of imported goods, boost United States exports and foster economic growth across the nation, according to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, who helped secure the grant.

"The Port of Mobile has unlimited potential to facilitate commerce, thereby generating economic growth and creating jobs in Alabama and across the country," Shelby said in a statement. "Expanding and enhancing Mobile's containerized shipping footprint is a critical step in raising the port's profile and importance in the global economy."

Shelby said he and the rest of the Alabama Congressional delegation had requested $14.4 million for the project.

TIGER grants are discretionary awards made by the U.S. Department of Transportation to state and local governments and transportation agencies for national infrastructure investments.

The rail project is expected to cost $31 million total, including site stabilization, a rail bridge, laying down tracks and paving. Phase 1 of the project will represents about 50 percent of the full build-out.

  

more...

Press Register