NASA boss visits Stennis

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy visited Stennis Space Center on Dec. 7, meeting with Stennis Director Rick Gilbrech and other site leaders, and also touring various center facilities. The leaders toured the Fred Haise Test Stand, B-2 Test Stand, and E Test Complex, as well as the Aerojet Rocketdyne Engine Assembly Facility. Nelson and Melroy both praised Stennis as a “national treasure,” noting the key role the center is playing in the agency’s Artemis plans to return astronauts to the Moon in preparation for eventual missions to Mars. Stennis is testing RS-25 engines that will help power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on deep space missions. Earlier this year, the site also tested the first SLS core stage prior to its upcoming Artemis I launch. The visit marked Nelson’s first trip to Stennis since he became NASA administrator in late April. (Source: NASA/SSC, 12/09/21) Nelson is a former Democrat U.S. senator from Florida.