Jerry Berg
Media Relations Department
(256) 544-0034
Jerry.Berg@msfc.nasa.gov

RELEASE: 00-133

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., contributed $735
million to Alabama’s economy in fiscal year 1999.

That contribution included $229 million in salaries for civil service personnel
and related costs, as well as travel. It also included $506 million spent on
locally procured services, prime contractor and subcontractor support, and
local construction.

Approximately $68 million in retirement annuities were paid in 1999 to
2,550 Marshall retirees residing in Alabama, with 1,475 retirees in
Huntsville receiving $39 million of that amount.

The $735 million spent in Alabama was significantly more than the Marshall
Center’s expenditures in any other state. In addition, NASA funding of
approximately $152 million was spent in North Alabama for International
Space Station hardware development by The Boeing Co., while
approximately $41 million was spent on other NASA programs in which
Marshall had a supporting role.

Marshall received approximately 17 percent — or $2.3 billion — of NASA’s
total budget of $13.7 billion during fiscal 1999. Of Marshall’s allocation,
$1.32 billion was spent for Human Space Flight activities; $623 million for
Science, Aeronautics and Technology; and the balance of $367 million went
to mission support at the Marshall Center and other sites across the country.

Since it was established in 1960, the Marshall Center has had budget
responsibility for more than $64.9 billion. When yearly figures are adjusted
for inflation, this total is equivalent to more than $160 billion in 1999 dollars.

Through September 1999, the Marshall Center paid $4.8 billion in federal
salaries since its creation in 1960.

At the end of September, Marshall’s permanent and temporary civil service
employees totaled 2,637, including employees at resident offices at prime
contractor facilities and at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility near New
Orleans, La.

Of that workforce, 2,134 were college graduates, with 1,438 holding
bachelor’s degrees. There were 154 employees with doctorate degrees
and 542 with master’s degrees in fields of engineering, science —
predominantly mathematics and physics — as well as other disciplines,
predominantly business administration.

During 1999, approximately 25,188 contractor personnel engaged in work
for the Marshall Center, including 2,612 in mission support, 10,249 on prime
contract work and 12,327 as subcontractors and vendors. Of the total, 6,473
worked in Alabama. Additionally, 1,554 contractors were associated with
International Space Station work being done by Boeing in Huntsville and
other NASA work supported by Marshall.

During fiscal 1999, 312,700 people toured Marshall, including educators,
conference and symposium visitors and news media. Of these, 254,554
toured the Marshall Center as part of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s bus
tour program. The Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville is Marshall’s official
NASA Visitor Center.

The Marshall Space Flight Center is celebrating 40 years of operation in
2000.

As Marshall marks this milestone and looks to the future, the Center
continues its role as a vital contributor to America’s future in space — as well
as to the economy of Huntsville and the state of Alabama.