Gene Goldman, acting director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., addressed a joint session of the Alabama Legislature May 3 — one of several events at the State Capitol to honor the Marshall Center for its achievements in space exploration.
Following Goldman’s remarks, a resolution from the Alabama Legislature was read commending the Marshall Center as an engine of economic development, the anchor of the aerospace industry in North Alabama and for employing almost 6,000 government and contractor personnel in unique and specialized facilities and laboratories.
“Marshall has a powerful economic impact on the state — roughly $2.9 billion in 2009, the last time we did a full study,” Goldman said. “That included $42.4 million in local and state sales and property taxes, and in 2011 we did about $817 million in business with Alabama companies — 22 percent of them small businesses,” he added.
“Today we are developing a new rocket – the Space Launch System — that will take us exploring beyond Earth’s orbit; operating science experiments aboard the International Space Station; using satellite data to understand the weather and assist with land use planning; and lending our world-class expertise and facilities to commercial industry,” said Goldman.
NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer, who lived and worked aboard the space station as a flight engineer and NASA science officer for six months in 2009-2010, joined Goldman at the State Capitol for an afternoon meeting with legislators. Creamer now works at Marshall as a Payload Operations Director.
Since its establishment in 1960, the Marshall Center has contributed to the nation’s goals in space exploration, science, technology and economic competitiveness. Alabamians working at Marshall helped put the first American in space, built the Saturn V moon rocket, the lunar rover, the space shuttle and the International Space Station.
For more information about the Marshall Center, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/home/index.html
