Explore Lagniappe for August 2024 featuring:

NASA’s Stennis Space Center Announces New Deputy Director

NASA Inspires at 2024 ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans

NASA Stennis Flashback

Gator Speaks

The roll out of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) Artemis II core stage from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on July 16 brought warm feelings to this Gator heart of mine.

It shows the continued progress toward the Artemis II test flight for NASA’s first crewed mission to the Moon under the Artemis campaign.

The SLS core stage for NASA’s powerful rocket shows the collective strength of collaboration, including all 10 NASA centers and more than 1,100 companies across the United States who contributed to its production.

NASA Stennis is quite familiar with the SLS core stage for a couple of reasons.

The expert NASA Stennis test team knows all about the RS-25 engines helping power SLS since all RS-25 engines are tested and proven flight-worthy at NASA Stennis. Two huge propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant feed four RS-25 engines at launch.

It will be quite a sight watching the SLS core stage produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to propel astronauts toward the Moon in the Orion spacecraft.

NASA Stennis helped pave the way for a successful Artemis I launch by testing the first SLS core stage to collect data and ensure all was ready to go.

Now, crews are preparing the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2), where NASA Stennis tested the SLS core stage for Artemis I, for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage.

The new upper stage, in production at NASA Michoud, is part of the next evolution for SLS.

So, you see, the July roll out of the SLS core stage for Artemis II is much more than a chance to see the massive structure being moved.

It shows the passions and dreams of so many on the move.

It shows the creativity involved.

It shows how NASA continues building on decades of exploration experience to fuel America’s passion for discovery.

Go, Artemis! Go, NASA!

NASA Stennis Top News

NASA’s Stennis Space Center Announces New Deputy Director

NASA’s Stennis Space Center Director John Bailey announced Aug. 2 that longtime propulsion engineer/manager Christine Powell has been selected as deputy director of the south Mississippi propulsion site, effective Aug. 12.

NASA Inspires at 2024 ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans

NASA joined the self-designated “party with a purpose” to let participants in the 30th ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans know there is space for everybody at the space agency.

NASA Stennis Flashback: Shuttle Team Achieves Unprecedented Milestone

As chief of test operations at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Maury Vander has been involved in some long-duration propulsion hot fires – but he still struggles to describe a pair of 34-minute space shuttle main engine tests conducted onsite in August 1988.

Center Activities

NASA Stennis Celebrates National Intern Day

Navy Interns Tour NASA Stennis

Louisiana Legislative Staff and Interns Visit NASA Stennis

Local School Leaders Visit NASA Stennis

NASA Associate Administrator Visits NASA Stennis

Congressional Staff Visit NASA Stennis

NASA Stennis Participates in Hancock County Groundbreaking

Java with John Hosts NASA Stennis Supervisors

NASA in the News

NASA Ships Moon Rocket Stage Ahead of First Crewed Artemis Flight

From One Crew to Another: Artemis II Astronauts Meet NASA Barge Crew

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test

25 Images to Celebrate NASA’s Chandra 25th Anniversary

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Scientists Find Intriguing Mars Rock

NASA Embraces Streaming Service to Reach, Inspire Artemis Generation

Employee Profile: Kim Johnson

NASA employee Kim Johnson’s desire for growth has taken her many places and continues unabated at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Additional Resources

Catching up with Stennis Space Center’s new director – WXXV News 25 (wxxv25.com)

New and Notables: John Bailey – Biz New Orleans

Good Things with Rebecca Turner – SuperTalk Mississippi (interview with NASA Stennis employees Lee English Jr. and Noah English)

Certifying Artemis Rocket Engines – NASA (Houston, We Have a Podcast segment featuring NASA Stennis engineers Chip Ellis and Bradley Tyree)

NASA Stennis Overview – Going Further (video)

Subscription Info

Lagniappe is published monthly by the Office of Communications at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The NASA Stennis office may be contacted by at 228-688-3333 (phone); ssc-office-of-communications@mail.nasa.gov (email); or NASA OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS, Attn: LAGNIAPPE, Mail code IA00, Building 1111 Room 173, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (mail).

The Lagniappe staff includes: Managing Editor Lacy Thompson, Editor Bo Black, and photographer Danny Nowlin.

To subscribe to the monthly publication, please email the following to ssc-office-of-communications@mail.nasa.gov – name, location (city/state), email address.

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