Layoffs at Stennis Space Center will not slow the work that will be ongoing at the largest engine testing facility in the nation.
Tuesday afternoon media representatives gathered at Stennis to watch a live broadcast of NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden share the current state of the space agency. Bolden repeatedly said the state of the agency is “strong.”
After touching on all of the innovations space exploration has provided to society, he said that work will continue through a $19 billion proposed budget by President Barack Obama.
After 15 years of work on the International Space Station, the plan is still to continue research on the ISS until 2024. Other highlights include, commercial companies are working to make space travel cheaper, NASA was voted as the best place to work in the federal government for the fourth year in a row and so far the Obama administration has invested a total of $147 billion in the space program during his tenure, Bolden said.
The plan is to send humans to Mars sometime in the 2030s, and the work to do that will be shared through all of the nation’s space centers, Stennis included. That work will lead to more innovations in medicine, technology and provide jobs to many, Bolden said.
“We’re able to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Bolden said.
In addition to development of expandable space habitats for ISS, DNA research is also planned on the space station. To ensure this all of this work continues, training of the next generation of astronauts has begun. Eight new recruits, four men and four women, were recently selected from a pool of thousands, Bolden said.
On the local end, Stennis Deputy Director Randy Galloway shared some news. Of the $19 billion proposed for the next fiscal year, Stennis is expecting to receive $156 million, a $5 million increase from the previous year. Those extra funds will be used to conduct RS-25 engine tests, modify the B-2 test stand to test core stage engines for the SLS, upgrade the high pressure gas system used in those tests and fund everyday operations of the center.
When asked, Galloway addressed the recent layoffs. He said the change in the contractor led to a 17 percent reduction in staff at the testing facility, but the move was made in order to consolidate services and reduce overhead. He said a lot of good people lost their jobs due to the change, some of which had worked at the facility for 30 or 40 years.
As for efforts to bring in more private companies to the testing facility, Galloway said representatives are looking for opportunities on that front, but he did not have details to share at press time.