Good news for ExRoadie

[red930]

I've had to sit on this for a while but now that NASA has made an official announcement I can blab about it.

 

Stennis Space Center has been the home of engine testing for manned space flight since the early days of the Apollo program. Every Space Shuttle Main Engine is tested before being approved for flight status.

 

I've had the extreme pleasure to work at the site on several projects over the years most recently on the IBM Black Forest Cluster machine which is one of the worlds most powerful "super computers".

 

Just last year we celebrated the 40th anniversary of engine tests and the 30th anniversary of Space Shuttle Main Engine testing.

 

Well, Stennis will also be the home of engine testing for the Ares flight hardware for the Constellation program which will replace the Space Shuttle and continue our manned space missions.

 

A new test stand will be built to facilitate testing of the Ares I and V J-2X engines which are the upper stage of the launch system.

 

This project will mean hundreds of new jobs during construction while allowing the current staff of rocket scientist to stay here for many years.

 

More details are available here...

http://www.sunherald.com/278/story/49526.html

 

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/may/H...Test_Stand.html

 

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/home/

[Anospa]

Congrats man, that sounds like one amazing place to work. What do you do there?

[KimTjik]

ExRoadie, I hope someone offer you a similar job soon, not directed on space but on our earthly seas, so you can give it a boost! 99 % isn't researched yet. It still puzzles me how little we know about our own planet.

 

Nevertheless, as you seem to enjoy your work I'm happy for you.

[Angry_Games]

too bad the moon landings were fake and NASA is possibly the most wasteful government agency ever created

[schoolslave]

too bad the moon landings were fake and NASA is possibly the most wasteful government agency ever created

 

 

 

hahahaha. What makes you think the moon landings were fake?

[red930]

hahahaha. What makes you think the moon landings were fake?

Its already been proven

 

Congrats man, that sounds like one amazing place to work. What do you do there?

gets some of that government money. wile the pore and homeless, handy caped and medical needs don't get .. Time to take care of were your at before worrying about were your going

[shatteredsteel]

Wow wil, that was a bit harsh, the guy got some great news...

 

Congrats exroadie, how far did you overclock that IBM? lol...

[red930]

Excellent news ExRoadie!

 

Pertaining to Wil's comments, it seems as though he was either in a hurry or has been dipping into the sauce a bit too much....

[red930]

I'm an independent contractor myself. My company name is New Allied Systems America but I most times just use the initials of NASA. Most of the guys out there get a kick out of my slogan which is "Yes, it is rocket science. Otherwise you'd be doing it yourself!" as seen in my sig.

 

I have a lot of small business contracts around the area but the big money is in government contracts as you might guess. I've mentioned some vague things about one of the upcoming contracts to a few of the guys in the forum so some of you knew something big was brewing.

 

There are over 6,000 people working at the center for about 30 different agencies and contractors. The Naval Oceanographic office is located on site providing weather and sea-state forecast information to US and Allied ships around the world.

 

The hold joint military exercises with Navy SEALs on the reservation almost year round since there isn't any one close enough to bother. When you travel Interstate 10 across the Louisiana/Mississippi state line you will see huge signs letting you know you're entering a "NASA Restrictive Easement". The place is huge at 125,000 acres so no one is bothered by noise.

 

Honestly, the first time I got to attend a Space Shuttle launch, I was floored by the sound levels as it began to rise from the launch structure. At Stennis, the engines are tested in a stand and the sound pressure waves are muted by the flame-bucket and water sound suppression system. You can stand a few hundred yards from the test stand and still hold a conversation.

 

They don't do it much anymore but through the early 90's they would test three engines for a full "to orbit" burn of about 8 minutes. Spectacular doesn't begin to describe the sights and sounds.

 

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/about/...ogy/saturn.html

 

These days they mostly just "flight certify" engines one at a time in a much smaller test stand.

 

http://www.ssc.nasa.gov/sirs/photos/propul...-2006-00030.jpg

 

Day single engine test video...

http://www.ssc.nasa.gov/sirs/movies/propul...peg/b1_test.mpg

 

Night single engine test video...

http://www.ssc.nasa.gov/sirs/movies/propul...peg/a1_test.mpg

[taowulf]

Its already been proven

 

 

gets some of that government money. wile the pore and homeless, handy caped and medical needs don't get .. Time to take care of were your at before worrying about were your going

 

pardon me while I roll my eyes at you for thinkign the moon landings were faked. I took Angry's comment as joking or sarcastic.

 

Secondly, compare the sheer amount of funds spent on NASA to the amount of money spent on welfare related programs in this country.

 

The most recent budget put around 17 billion to NASA. Directly, for all of the NASA programs.

 

Lots of money, isn't it?

 

Let's compare it to social security and other programs where money does go to taxpayers and those on the government dole.

 

608 billion to Social Security.

386 B to Medicare

202 B to Medicaid

45 billion to veterans benefits

 

 

More specifically, the Department of Heath and Human Services gets 67billion a year. The Department of Housing gets 35 billion.

 

The Department of Education gets over 55 Billion.

 

The department that tries to protect very fabric that helps this society exists, the Department of Justice, has a 20 billion dollar budget...still more than NASA gets.

 

 

 

And congrats to ExRoadie. Continued employment is always a reason to celebrate. And few things are more important to the future and knowledge of mankind than space exploration and the other projects that NASA sponsors. Not that they do not have wastage and many false starts, being a government agency and all, but overall, they do tons of good. We owe so many things that make life healthier, safer and easier today to what was developed in the early days of the space program that is isn't even funny.

[tasr]

ExRoadie,

 

So you're a rocket scientist. I knew you were a smart guy.

 

I have been all over the world. I have experiences many different cultures and governments. I just wish the world would understand just 10% of what the USA does for it in making this better world. It far exceeds our mistakes.

 

Thanks for being a part of it ExRoadie.

 

James

[General Septem]

Congratulations ExRoadie :beer

 

 

Wil, I've yet to see this proof, or any reason at all to seriously consider the possibility that it was faked. It's as possible as anything else, but there's no indication for me personally to give the theory any weight at all.

 

NASA is necessary for the growth of the human population. There's only so far we can grow in intelligence, size, achievements, and so on and stay within our own borders. Granted, I think searching for aliens is a waste of government money, but by and large NASA is a very welcome addition to our vast array of research.

 

After all, there's plenty of other useless government agencies we could save money by cutting funds from, like the DEA and ATF. (That wasn't a political comment by the way, but a joking reference to my sophomoric desire to get high and go shoot something. )