What: On June 8, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will celebrate the opening of Building 4601, the second completed facility in its new engineering complex, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. State and local dignitaries are expected to join NASA team members to mark the occasion.
The facility will be home to engineers from Marshall’s Materials and Processes Laboratory and Spacecraft and Vehicle Systems Department, working on next-generation launch vehicle technologies and preparing the way for explorers to journey to the moon, Mars and beyond. They also support NASA’s far-reaching science missions, space shuttle propulsion systems and hardware and science aboard the International Space Station.
The new facility was designed and built according to efficient energy and water principles, making it eligible for registration with the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)® — a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable structures. The Marshall Center has submitted the new facility for council certification. The center previously earned LEED® Silver Certification for Building 4600, the first facility in the new engineering complex, which opened in 2005. It was the first LEED® facility built by NASA.
Who: Marshall Center Acting Director Robert Lightfoot will preside at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Scheduled participants include U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama; Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle; and Madison Mayor Paul Finley.
When: Monday, June 8, 8:30 a.m. CDT
Where: Bldg. 4601, southwest of the intersection of Rideout and Martin roads on Redstone Arsenal.
To attend: News media interested in covering the event should contact Angela Storey in Marshall’s Public and Employee Communications Office at 256-544-0034 no later than 4 p.m. Friday, June 5. Media must report to the Redstone Joint Visitor Control Center at Gate 9, Interstate 565 interchange at Rideout Road/Research Park Boulevard 45 minutes prior to the start of the event. Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate. News media will need two forms of photo identification and proof of car insurance. Visitor parking is available in front of Bldg. 4200 on the southwest side.
