HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The State of Louisiana Economic Development Team was recently honored with a NASA Public Service Group Achievement Award by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The Louisiana team was recognized at the Marshall Center’s annual Honor Awards ceremonies for its outstanding contributions and exemplary support of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility – an aerospace manufacturing and assembly plant located on 832 acres in eastern New Orleans. The Michoud facility is managed by NASA’s Marshall Center.
The award notes the team’s recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, as well as its bold investment strategy in the NASA Constellation Program, which is developing NASA’s next generation of crew exploration and launch vehicles.
Team members recognized for the award include Louisiana state senators John Alario and Ann Duplessis, other state government leaders, as well as New Orleans local government and business leaders.
The leadership team helped to secure federal and state funding for manufacturing, machining and tooling work at the Michoud facility for the Constellation Program.
Michoud will manufacture and assemble the upper stage of the Ares I rocket, and the structure of the Orion crew capsule – the spacecraft that will carry a new generation of explorers to Earth orbit, to the moon and beyond. Future anticipated work will be the manufacture and assembly of the Ares V cargo launch vehicle core stage along with its Earth departure stage.
The funding includes support for construction of a new Michoud research and development building, to be shared by the State of Louisiana, for small business incubator work; and manufacturing equipment and machining tools for Orion, Ares I Upper Stage and Ares V projects.
With over 3.8-million square feet of infrastructure, including a port with deep water access, Michoud is one of the largest employers in Louisiana, with more than 4,200 employees on-site. For 35 years, Michoud has manufactured and built the Space Shuttle Program’s external tank.
For more information on NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, visit:
