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NASA this week recorded its fourth test on one of the engines that will power the Space Launch System Station rocket into deep space, perhaps even a trip to Mars one day. The engine test was performed Wednesday (Aug. 9) at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, the agency said in a news release. Stennis said engineers conducted a 500-second test of the RS-25 engine controller on one of the test stands at the sprawling facility. The test involved firing the engine in the same manner and for the same amount of time as an SLS rocket launch. The...

Nearly six months after announcing that SpaceX would be testing Raptor engine components at NASA's Stennis Space Center, a ribbon cutting ceremony this past Monday officially unveiled the newly refurbished E-2 test stand. SpaceX has been working on the Raptor methane-fueled rocket engine since 2009. The new engine, a reusable engine is destined to be used in future versions of the Falcon Heavy and in the long term for the notional SpaceX Mars Colonial Transporter. Testing is set to begin within the coming days after the E-2 test stand activation is completed a spokesperson for SpaceX confirmed to SpaceRef. SpaceX...

NASA will complete a $350 million structure to test rocket engines at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi early this year. Then, it plans to mothball the 300- foot-high, steel-frame tower for the foreseeable future. The reason: Congress ordered the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to finish building the facility even though the agency doesn't need it. The tower was designed to test a GenCorp Inc. engine for a rocket program canceled in 2010. Its funding survived thanks to Mississippi Republican senators led by Roger Wicker, who crafted a provision requiring the agency to complete the work. The test stand is...

The Navy on Wednesday said that the Sept. 11 removal of an admiral commanding a Mideast aircraft carrier group was not related to the Sept. 11 U.S. consulate attack in Libya Speculative reports have said that the head of the John C. Stennis carrier group wanted to send help during the deadly attack and disobeyed orders to stand down...

The Bremerton-based aircraft carrier, the USS John C. Stennis, will deploy four months early to the Persian Gulf. To thank sailors for their service, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited U.S. Naval Base Kitsap at Bremerton Wednesday.Speaking to the more than 2,000 men and women of the Stennis strike group, Panetta said U.S. military needs them."I understand that its tough, we're asking an awful lot of each of you. But frankly, you are the best I have and when the world calls we have to respond," he told them.Panetta will spend the rest of the day on base, meeting with...

Ten sailors were injured Wednesday when an F/A-18C Hornet suffered a catastrophic engine failure and caught fire as a pilot was preparing to take off from the carrier John C. Stennis about 100 miles off the coast of San Diego, the Navy said. None of the injuries is life-threatening... The pilot, who is with a squadron from Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, was alone in the jet. He was unhurt... The injured sailors were working on the flight deck when the incident occurred about 2:50 p.m. Pilots were training for takeoffs and landings at the time. The sailors who were...

Ten sailors were injured yesterday when a jet fighter's engine exploded as it prepared to take off from an aircraft carrier. The F/A-18C Hornet was starting a training exercise when the accident occurred on the flight deck of the USS John C. Stennis, in waters off California. Four sailors were flown to Naval Medical Center San Diego where they were in stable condition.

Nine years have now come and gone since the 9/11 attacks. In 1996, I steamed past the Statue of Liberty into the Hudson River onboard the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy. The World Trade Center rose majestically from lower Manhattan. I recalled my enormous relief three years earlier when terrorists bombed the towers and they did not fall. In "The Fountainhead," Ayn Rand wrote: "I would give the greatest sunset in the word for one sight of New York's skyline. ... the will of man made visible ... I feel that if a war came to threaten this, I would...

Brazilian students transit during training at the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School. STENNIS SPACE CENTER — Twenty members of the Brazilian Federal Police have been training at the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School in Hancock County for the past nine weeks. The school trains international security forces in high-level riverine and littoral-craft operations and small-craft maintenance. Officials said the school usually runs 10 courses simultaneously for international security forces of up to 20 countries but focused all of its attention on the waterborne instructor course for the Brazilians. “The reason NAVSCIATTS exists is...

I heard a series of loud booms coming from the Stennis Space Center tonight before midnight local time, followed by what sounded like claxon horns. Looked out the back door and saw numerous bright flashes reflected from the clouds along with loud booms. Looked like a thunderstorm, but there are no storms in the area. Cold and dry here. Explosions eventually died out after a half hour as did the horns. I'm thinking there was something unexpected going on at Stennis. It is normal to hear rocket tests during the day, but have never before heard anything in the middle...

Today President Bush delivered the commencement address at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. (Transcript with audio) In a written statement, the president also saluted the Virginia Tech class of 2007, which will be having its graduation ceremonies this weekend. (Transcript) President Bush returned to the White House this afternoon to commemorate Military Spouse Day and to present the President’s Volunteer Service Awards. (Transcript with audio) Vice President Dick Cheney departed the United Arab Emirates and arrived on the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Persian Gulf. There, the vice president received a warm welcome from 4,000 sailors...

NASA announced plans on Monday to build a new engine test stand at Stennis Space Center in Hancock County. The announcement represents an estimated $175 million investment in Stennis and serves to support the Constellation Project. That's NASA's plan to return the United States to the Moon and eventually to Mars. The new stand at Stennis will test NASA's J-2X engines, which will be used in the second stage of the Ares I launch vehicle. NASA officials say the new 300-foot-tall open-frame design will allow engineers to simulate conditions at different altitudes. The new stand will be completed in time...

ABOARD USS JOHN C. STENNIS, March 6, 2007 – Navy, Marine Corps and Army personnel are working side by side aboard the USS John C. Stennis Strike Group supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The Stennis Strike Group is afloat in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility, which encompasses about 7.5 million square miles and includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean. “This is the epitome of a joint operation,” said Navy Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn, commander of Carrier Strike Group 3. “Our primary mission is to conduct air operations in...

USS JOHN C. STENNIS, At Sea (NNS) -- The USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Carrier Strike Group (JCSSG) entered the U.S. 7th Fleet’s area of responsibility (AOR) Jan. 31, as part of a deployment to promote peace, regional cooperation and stability. While Stennis and the rest of the strike group, led by Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn, is scheduled to transit from 7th Fleet to U.S. Central Command to provide support for coalition forces operating there, JCSSG remains ready to respond to any mission in any theatre of operation. “Our strike group provides an agile, flexible, responsive and robust set...

With tears streaming down her cheeks, Petty Officer 2nd Class Krystal Perez gave her 2-year-old daughter a birthday hug yesterday morning, then stepped aboard the guided-missile destroyer Preble for deployment to the Persian Gulf. “It's really hard,” said Perez, who had not planned to spend her daughter's birthday shipping out. “It's my job and I've got to do it,” said Perez, whose tour could last six months or more. “My family e-mails me every day so I know she's OK, and if she's OK, I'm OK. With crews of 250 each, the Preble and the destroyer Antietam left the San...

CALIFORNIA (NNS) -- Five Sailors aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) were treated to a trip to the California speedway to watch the Stater Brothers 300 NASCAR race Feb. 25. The Sailors were selected to represent Stennis as part of the U.S. Navy Motorsports Fleet Honoree program. The program also featured Stennis’ name on the hood of the No. 88 Navy “Accelerate Your Life” Chevy Monte Carlo driven by rookie driver Mark McFarland. “We found out Jan. 31 that Stennis had been selected to be the fleet honoree for the race in California,” said Lt. Justin Lewis, Stennis’ stock...

ABOARD USS JOHN C. STENNIS (NNS) -- Sailors from USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), assisted a grateful community in Pearlington, Miss., in October by removing old refrigerators from the area, which had become a health hazard after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast coastline. Stennis, homeported in Bremerton, Wash., sent 50 volunteers to the hurricane-ravaged area of southern Mississippi. The aircraft carrier is named for Senator John C. Stennis of Miss., and considers the state its adopted home. "These smaller communities receive little attention after [Hurricane] Katrina," said Rick Hines, a FEMA volunteer from the West Indianapolis, Ind., fire...

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. (NNS) -- The Navy will build a 100-home community and offer to pay leases for hundreds of employees to keep a highly skilled workforce intact at the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command after Hurricane Katrina left about 450 workers homeless. In response to the unprecedented destruction, the command has set up a Navy Housing office to find places to live for Stennis-based military personnel and civilian workers at the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (CNMOC), the Naval Oceanographic Office, the Naval Research Laboratory, Naval Special Boat Team 22 and Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training...

Welcome To Your New Home, USS Stennis January 8, 2005   By KOMO Staff & News Services          BREMERTON - Armed with a large red and black umbrella, Beth Wiruth stood ashore in Bremerton and anxiously watched Saturday as the USS John C. Stennis slowly made its way to its new homeport at Naval Base Kitsap. "The ship is in sight!" Wiruth shouted as she scanned the deck where more than 2,500 sailors wearing their winter dress-blue uniforms stood at attention. "Ahh, it's just the best sight. It's just the best sight!" Wiruth was one of...

    Official U.S. Navy file photo of an F-14D Tomcat assigned to Fighter Squadron (VF) 31. The return of the squadron marks the final deployment of the F-14 Tomcat to the Pacific Coast. View Larger Download HiRes   Tomcatters Return from Pacific DeploymentStory Number: NNS041029-01Release Date: 10/29/2004 7:24:00 AMFrom Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet Public AffairsNORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The “Tomcatters” of Fighter Squadron (VF) 31 will return to their home base at Naval Air Station Oceana Oct. 31, following a five-month deployment to the Western Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN...