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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
JOHN C. STENNIS SPACE CENTER
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000
AC 601 688-3341	August	1991
JOHN C. STENNIS SPACE CENTER FACT SHEET
The John C. Stennis Space Center is NASA’s premiere center for testing large rocket propulsion systems for the Space Shuttle and future generation space vehicles. Stennis Space Center is one of only nine NASA field centers and is located in Hancock County, Miss.
The Mississippi space age began in the early 1960s when NASA announced plans to place its test facility for the Saturn V rocket in south Mississippi. Less than eight years later, American astronauts walked on the lunar surface, safely transported thousands of miles from Earth by a space vehicle equipped with first and second booster stages tested and proven flight worthy at Stennis Space Center.
Upon completion of the Apollo and Skylab programs, the center’s role in engine testing moved to the next step in space travel...the Space Shuttle. SSC’s primary mission is to provide the facilities, equipment and technical support necessary to develop and flight certify the shuttle’s main engines which power the vehicle during the first 8V2 minutes of flight.
Because of its excellence in the field of testing, Stennis Space Center was selected to develop and test the propulsion system for the nation’s next generation of space vehicles—the National Launch System. This unmanned, heavy-lift vehicle is targeted for operation in the late 1990s and is intended to provide a launch system that meets the long-term national goal of returning to the moon and going on to Mars while reducing the cost of launching heavy payloads into space.
Construction is already under way on a new Component Test Facility to develop and test high-fidelity turbomachinery in support of this and future manned and unmanned space vehicles. The new facility will allow NASA to determine the operational limits of critical components before they are assembled into final engine designs.
Beginning in 1994, SSC plans to test the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor. With this additional program, the center will have sole responsibility for testing the Space Shuttle’s propulsion systems — the three main engines and two solid rocket motors. The advanced motor will improve flight safety, reliability and performance over current solid motors and provide an additional 12,000-pound lifting capability. This will benefit NASA when it is time to start placing heavier payloads into space such as Space Station Freedom.
NASA’s Science and Technology Laboratory (STL) is the primary research and development organization of SSC. Scientists and engineers are working toward better understanding the Earth’s natural processes and are developing tools and techniques for man to better manage his impact on the environment. As a result of the laboratory’s extensive research, Stennis Space Center has been designated as NASA’s lead center for space remote sensing commercial development.
SSC has also evolved into a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary center for federal, state, academic and private organizations engaged in space, oceans, environmental programs and the national defense. Approximate employment for NASA, 18 resident agencies and industrial contractors is 4,500. The director of Stennis Space Center is Roy S. Estess.
The space center is located in Hancock County on Mississippi Highway 607 with easy access from Interstates 10 and 59. For additional information, write the NASA Public Affairs Office or call (601) 688-3341.