MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST ALLIANCE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
July 2011 - Volume V Issue II
aerospace ∙ advanced materials ∙ shipbuilding ∙ geospatial ∙ marine science
Inside this Issue:
Beyond Shipbuilding 1-3 Space Ventures 4 Innovative Spirit 5 Quick Hits 6 2nd Quarter Briefs 7
The Alliance is an independent partnership serving the six Mississippi counties nearest the Gulf of Mexico. Beyond Shipbuilding
Hancock Development Composite deckhouse for the DDG 1000 Zumwalt class ship. Photo courtesy of Ingall's Shipbuilding Commission they do it. And it is impressive. Harrison County Technology has changed the way ships are built, and one They build huge composite structures for Development Commission Navy ships, including components for the facility eyeing the future is next generation DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class Jackson County Ingalls’ Gulfport operation… destroyer. And one thing that will really get Economic Development Jenkins talking is a discussion about new Foundation Jay Jenkins is quite enthusiastic when ventures the company is eyeing. he takes a visitor around the facilities How about wind blade construction and Mississippi Power Company at Ingalls Shipbuilding’s Gulfport repair, or bridges and roadway sections? Operations. The site director of the None of that is too far afield. And, as if to company’s Composites Center of drive home the point, not long ago the team Excellence takes pleasure showing what in Gulfport built an emergency escape they do in Gulfport, and explaining how composite fairing for the crew capsule
(Beyond Shipbuilding continued, page 2) Copyright 2010-2011, Alliance Insight Beyond Shipbuilding (continued from page 1) of the now-defunct Constellation Program. But that is shipbuilding - of the spaceship variety. “I’m very excited about the future, because of the capabilities and the folks that we have working here. This is a world-class facility. We’re the only ones that can build marine carbon fiber composites in the size that we build them. Nobody else in the world can do that.” The Gulfport operation has been building composite parts for ships for a long time, but Jenkins sees a lot of new fields on the horizon. “Looking to the future, I see the possibilities as endless in terms of what we can do in support of marine composites, in support of civil infrastructure - bridges, roadways, those types of things - in terms of alternative energy capabilities. I think that Gulfport and the composite center of excellence at Gulfport has nearly unlimited world-class capability for future work here.” Jenkins being comfortable with change isn’t that surprising. Change has been the norm for the company since the start of the year.
The Company Ingalls Shipbuilding Gulfport Operations is part of Ingalls Shipbuilding, which in turn is a part of the 38,000 employee Huntington Ingalls Industries of Newport News, Va. The company, with operations in Mississippi, Virginia, Louisiana and California, was spun off from Northrop Grumman in March 2011, in part because the shipbuilding portion of Northrop Grumman did The composite mast being built for one of the company’s amphibious ships. Gulfport has not mesh with the focus areas of that company. been building them since 2001. Photo courtesy of Ingall's Shipbuilding Northrop acquired the shipyard when it bought Litton Industries. the DDG 51 destroyer program beyond the first two vessels. Ingalls Shipbuilding has three sites across the Gulf The company could also see more Coast Guard cutter activity, Coast with nearly 11,000 employees: Mississippi’s and will begin building the Hamilton this summer, according Gulfport and Pascagoula operations, as well as the to the Mississippi Press. Avondale, La., shipyard. In 2013, the Avondale will be But among U.S. shipbuilders, Ingalls has the only composite shut down. Earlier, the Tallulah, La., facility was closed. center of excellence. Other companies, even shipbuilders, All of Avondale’s work will be consolidated in Pascagoula also craft vessels out of composites. But none is involved Ingalls is building 28 of the 62 ship DDG 51 class of in programs on the scale and scope of the work done at the Aegis guided missile destroyers for the Navy. It’s also the composite shop. builder of record for the LPD, LHD and LHA classes of amphibious assault ships, and builder of the U.S. Coast Composites Center Guard’s National Security Cutter. The Gulfport operation is a multi-building facility that Right now the Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula has an occupies a 120-acre site in Bernard Bayou Industrial District. $18 billion backlog that will carry it into 2018. In April It has done composite structures ranging from small combatant it was awarded a $1.5 billion contract to build LPD 26, craft of less than 200 feet to lightweight aerospace structures. its 10th amphibious transport dock ship. This year and It has a workforce of 500, according to the company’s website. next there could be one more amphibious transport dock contract to come on line, as well as a continuation of (Beyond Shipbuilding continued, page 3)
Alliance Insight • Volume V Issue II • Page 2 Beyond Shipbuilding (continued from page 2)
Gulfport has been building composite masts for the LPD 17 program since 2001. The mast is a detachable, octagon-shaped structure 93 feet high and 35 feet in diameter constructed of a multilayer, frequency selective material designed to allow passage of specific radio frequencies while reflecting others. As strong as steel, composites are resistant to corrosion, lightweight, stealthy and have reduced maintenance costs. One key benefit is electronics can be integrated into the structure, a key reason for composite masts. But composites are more costly. Gulfport’s experience goes back to the hand layup fabrication technology used in the MHC 51 Osprey 4 class mine hunters. Today they use very different techniques, including vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM). In addition to masts for LPD 17, the Gulfport operation has also built a mast for the carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) to replace a steel mast, and other topside structures for the CVN 78 Ford class of carrier. But it’s the work on the DDG 1000 class of ship that is particularly striking for the size of Huge bolts are used to attach composite structures to metal portions of the ship. the structures alone. The Zumwalt class is being This is from the DDG 1000 deckhouse being built by Ingalls. built by General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works Photo courtesy of Ingall's Shipbuilding in Maine, but Ingalls is a major contractor. It’s building the ship’s integrated composite deckhouses and helicopter hangars, as well as parts Looking to the Future of the ships’ peripheral vertical launch systems. Ingalls is looking at four areas of opportunity: major Ingalls had to build a new set of manufacturing composite structures, topside components and radomes, small buildings to handle work on the Zumwalt, whose composite structures and commercial products. deckhouse is nearly double the width and five times While shipbuilding will continue to be the primary activity the length of the Antonio-class ship masts, according for the Gulfport operation, the company understands there are to Aviation Week. opportunities that go beyond the shipbuilding field. And that’s “I can do multiple composite processes, and I can where Jenkins wants to go. do different types of processes at the same time because “Pick an industry or pick a type of construction,” said I have a plant that’s large enough and a work force that’s Jenkins. “It would include everything from wind blade repair diverse enough and skilled enough to be able to do those, and construction to potentially roadbeds to offshore oil regardless of where the project is and how big it is,” platforms, where we could build composite structures that Jenkins told Alliance Insight. don’t corrode and are lightweight so it gives the structure The biggest panels can take more than 24 hours to further capability to do what they need to do. infuse with resin and cure. The company has adapted And aerospace? some composite-industry processes and developed some “I think we can do small parts, covers, and those kinds of of its own to infuse and cure the resin and then check each things, shields, cowlings, things that don’t require autoclaves, piece with special ultrasonic inspection equipment. we can use an out of autoclave process for manufacturing That’s a major investment for a ship class that has been if we can get the engineering and the tooling we can do the cut from about two dozen ships down to its current three. process.” But the Navy likes composites for topside structures, and For Ingalls’ Gulfport operation, it’s all a matter of trying the investment Ingalls has made may be worth it. to see what’s over the horizon. – David Tortorano
Alliance Insight • Volume V Issue II • Page 3 ——————————— advanced materials/shipbuilding ———————————— Shipbuilding Center Ventures into Space
Ingalls Shipbuilding Gulfport Operations is known for its work building composite structures for the Navy’s fleet. But less known is that it also ventured into aerospace when it built a composite fairing for NASA’s now-aborted Constellation Program. While the Gulfport Composites Center of Excellence was still part of defense giant Northrop Grumman, workers at the Gulfport operation built the nose piece, called a fairing, for the Max Launch Abort System (MLAS). The MLAS was designed to provide a quick escape from a launch vehicle, the Ares I, in case of emergency on the launch pad or in the initial stages of launch. The MLAS concept for an operational vehicle would have four or more solid rocket motors attached inside the bullet-shaped composite fairing. In case of an emergency, it would propel the crew module and associated fairing from the Ares I rocket, far away from the potential danger. The MLAS was successfully tested at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia in June of 2009. In the test, the MLAS demonstration vehicle consisted of a full-scale composite fairing, a full-scale crew module simulator and four solid rocket abort motors mounted in the boost skirt, with motor mass simulators in the forward fairing. The Max system was named for Maxime (Max) Faget, a Mercury-era pioneer. – David Tortorano
The Max Launch Abort System was successfully tested at NASA's Wallops The MLAS composite fairing was built in Gulfport, Miss., at the Center for Flight Facility in Virginia in June 2009. Photo courtesy of NASA Composites Excellence. Photo courtesy of NASA
Alliance Insight • Volume V Issue II • Page 4 Group Hopes to Tap into Innovative Spirit
Incubators are designed to help start-ups survive the first year of life. Many are stand-alone operations, like Biloxi’s Innovation Center, with start-ups from a variety of fields. South Mississippi also has an operation that’s both technology transfer office and incubator: the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology. The patent group works closely with both tech transfer offices and incubators. Chapman points out that moving a new process or product to the commercial market requires a number of players and Kathleen Chapman wasn’t sure what to expect when organizations working together. It can be intimidating. she started a group that would focus on intellectual property. Joe Graben, director of the University of Southern But the Naval Research Laboratory attorney has been Mississippi Business & Innovation Assistance Center, thinks surprised by the interest as the group reaches across the the work of the patent group will give businesses in South Gulf Coast region. Mississippi a group of experts they can turn to. The Gulf Coast Patent Association has had three meetings "With intellectual property issues, you need to talk face-to- so far, with the inaugural meeting in October at Stennis Space face with someone," said Graben. Center attended by some 30 people. The follow-up meeting in Charlie Beasley, president of the Mississippi Enterprise for February in New Orleans drew 45 and the most recent meeting Technology, is also interested in the group and plans to have in June in Mobile, Ala., attracted 36 people. MSET involved. The group is composed of IP practitioners, including So far, much of the group’s work has been organizing the intellectual property attorneys, patent agents and others. board, creating committees and getting their footing. They are There are 20 members from Baton Rouge to Pensacola. still in the process of letting people know they exist. Ideally, she’d like to see the group expand to Panama City Chapman is a great believer in innovation. She’s lived in or perhaps Tallahassee. areas where it played a big role in the economy, and she sees Chapman, a native of Long Beach, Miss., spent her adult no reason why it can’t be the same in the Gulf Coast region. life in Florida, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and, for This region has a lot of innovative activity on both the federal, 23 years, New England. She's back, and on a mission to university and commercial level. make the region an innovation dynamo. Where someone lives can make a big difference in whether What prompted it all was finding out that many people an idea reaches the marketplace. She said everywhere granted patents from the Gulf Coast region used attorneys she’s lived shared the quintessential American qualities of from elsewhere to represent them. So she did some checking. intelligence, creativity, drive and enthusiasm. But a business What she found was there were intellectual property in Massachusetts is 73 times more likely to have a patent practitioners in the region, but no organized effort to make assigned to it than a business in Mississippi. their services known. The Gulf Coast Patent Association She’s hoping it will become just as likely in South does that. Mississippi and the rest of the Gulf Coast by having IP She wants the association to be a place where inventors, practitioners take an active role in creating a climate where individuals or those associated with organizations, can innovation and commercialization thrive. go to find practitioners who can help them navigate the "We have the opportunity to create the fertile soil for sometime treacherous path towards protecting what innovation here and now," she said. – David Tortorano they’ve created. The aim is to get their products and services to the marketplace. It’s just one more piece of the process, which can also involve technology transfer offices and business incubators. To Learn More Tech transfer offices are generally associated with an Contact: Kathy Chapman organization where research is common. NASA, for instance, Phone: 228-688-5759 has a tech transfer office at Stennis Space Center, as does E-mail: [email protected] the University of Southern Mississippi through its Business Website: www.gulfcoastpatentassociation.com & Innovation Assistance Center.
Alliance Insight • Volume V Issue II • Page 5 Quick Hits
Aerospace Book 6th Edition Released The sixth annual edition of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Alliance for Economic Development’s Mississippi Gulf Coast Aerospace 2011-2012 book is now available. The 52-page book highlights the aerospace activities in South Mississippi, including the rocket engine testing at Stennis Space Center, military aviation activities at Keesler Air Force Base, unmanned aerial systems work at Jackson Aviation Technology Park and more. The book also includes chapters on South Mississippi’s key centers of activities, a summary of major companies operating in the area, chapter on research and development, applied technologies, technology transfer/ incubators and workforce development. The book can be downloaded for free at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Alliance for Economic Development’s Web site (www.mscoastalliance. com). Just click on the aerospace navigation bar, then go to publications to download a free copy. If you prefer a paperback edition with glossy covers, visit Lulu.com, a print-on-demand service to order one of more copies. Enter “10798132” to find it.
J-2X Rocket Engine Ready for Testing NASA's new J-2X rocket engine, which could power the upper stage of a future heavy-lift launch vehicle, is ready for its first round of testing. The fully assembled engine was installed in early June in Stennis' A-2 Test Stand. The test stand, which supported the space shuttle main engine project, has been modified for the J-2X. In addition to the structural, electrical and plumbing modifications, a new engine start system was installed and control systems were upgraded on the stand. The liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen transfer lines that dated back to the 1960s also were replaced. That stand was originally used to test Saturn V rockets for the Apollo program. The engine will undergo a series of 10 test firings, scheduled to begin in June, that will last several Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne employees Carlos Alfaro, left, and Oliver Swanier work months. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, of Canoga Park, on the main combustion element of the J-2X rocket engine at Stennis Space Center. Calif., designed and built the J-2X for NASA. Photo courtesy of NASA But not everything goes according to plan. In early June, an Aerojet AJ26 engine, the propulsion system for one of NASA's commercial space-cargo haulers, shut down early in a test firing at Stennis Space Center. The test was conducted on the E-1 Test Stand. The AJ26 is the main engine for Orbital Science Corp.'s Taurus 2 rocket, which will launch the company's Cygnus capsule for commercial resupply missions to the international space station. Three AJ26 engines have been successfully test fired at Stennis Space Center before this event. “This is the reason we test engines here at Stennis before they are installed on launch vehicles,” said David Liberto, AJ26 engine project manager at Stennis. (Quick Hits continued, page 8)
Alliance Insight • Volume V Issue II • Page 6 2nd Quarter Briefs
The following headlines represent only Shipbuilding a sampling of the news briefs published from • Taber gets ship work (Mobile Press-Register, 06/08/11) the beginning of the quarter in April until • HI gets contract for DDG 113 (DoD, 06/02/11) mid June. Those below are items of interest • Commissioning set (Mobile Press-Register, 05/28/11) to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. • VT Halter wins contract (Mississippi Press, 05/26/11) • Navy rejects VT Halter-built ship (Defense News, 05/26/11) Aerospace • Avondale subject of study (Times-Picayune, 05/22/11) • AJ26 shuts down early in test (NASA, 06/10/11) • DDG 110 leaves (Sun Herald, Mississippi Press, 05/20/11) • Seeker demos against sea targets (PRNewswire, 06/07/11) • Ingalls eyes welding (Mobile Press-Register, 05/09/11) • Squadron saves lives, money (Mississippi Press, 06/05/11) • Army transfers JHSVs to Navy (NNS, 05/05/11) • Shuttle gone, Orion remains (Times-Picayune, 06/04/11) • BAE to showcase ship repair (Business Wire, 04/28/11) • Airport eyes military contract (Sun Herald, 05/29/11) • HI names shipyard chiefs (Mississippi Press, 04/26/11) • Images show extent of river sediment (NASA, 05/27/11) • More ship contracts negotiated (Sun Herald, 04/05/11) • New spacecraft based on Orion (NASA05/24/11) • HI gets $1.5B contract for LPD 26 (DoD, 04/01/11) • Army Fire Scouts go Navy (DoD, 05/16/11) • Lakota delivered to SD Guard (EADS, 05/16/11) Marine Science • 403rd gets new commander (Sun Herald, 05/12/11) • Oil impact causes rift (Mobile Press Register, 06/12/11) • NASA awards services contract (NASA, 04/29/11) • Data portal earns Gulf Guardian award (EPA, 06/09/11) • NASA facility named for Estess (NASA, 05/02/11) • Dispersant worth it? (Pensacola News Journal, 05/31/11) • SBIRS encapsulated in fairing (Lockheed Martin, 04/26/11) • Oysters likely to be wiped out (Sun Herald, 05/17/11) • RS-68A design certification done (PRnewswire, 04/26/11) • Fish healthy or not? (Mobile Press-Register, 05/15/11) • Fire Scouts to fly Afghan missions (Navy Times, 04/21/11) • Another concern for the Gulf? (Sun Herald, 05/06/11) • NASA picks projects for development (NASA, 04/20/11) • GCRL’s Hawkins to retire (Mississippi Press, 04/23/11) • Discovery crew to visit SSC (NASA, 04/18/11) • Nebula used in SSC project (Information Week, 04/19/11) • Gulf Coast tech hub announced (PRNewswire, 04/19/11) • Last of federal waters opened (Sun Herald, 04/19/11) • Golden Triangle can fly UAVs (Stark Aerospace, 04/13/11) • Sea grass being examined (Mississippi Press, 04/14/11) • Topping out done on A-3 stand (NASA, 04/13/11) • Command’s deputy takes NATO job (Sun Herald, 04/13/11) • Bolden gives SSC assurances (Sen. Cochran, 04/12/11) • NOAA official: Gulf seafood safe (Sun Herald, 04/12/11) • UAV sets endurance record (Globe Newswire, 04/12/11) • GCRL holds first Earth Day (Mississippi Press, 04/11/11) • C-21 training leaving Keesler (AFNS, 04/07/11) Geospatial • Images show extent of river sediment (NASA, 05/27/11)
Advanced Materials • DuPont to increase production (Sun Herald, 05/11/11) • Light self-repairs material (National Science Foundation, 04/21/11)
Learn More Want to learn more about South Mississippi's science and technology activities? Visit the Mississippi Gulf Coast Alliance for Economic Development website at www.mscoastalliance.com. Or if you're interested in a particular subject, you can go directly to the sector site at: www.mscoastaerospace.com www.mscoastshipbuilding.com NASA and community officials paid tribute to the late John C. Stennis www.mscoastgeospatial.com Space Center Director Roy S. Estess on May 2, naming a site facility in his www.mscoastadvancedmaterials.com memory and announcing establishment of the annual Roy S. Estess Public www.mscoastmarinescience.com Service Leadership Award. Photo courtesy of NASA
Alliance Insight • Volume V Issue II • Page 7 Quick Hits (continued from page 7)
Raytheon Technical Services Co. Joins MSET Community at SSC Raytheon Technical Services Co. has joined the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology business community at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center, according to MSET. Its local office is in Slidell, La. Raytheon Technical Services, based in Reston, Va., provides technical, scientific and professional services to defense, federal, international, and commercial customers worldwide. It specializes in training, logistics, engineering, product support, and operational support services and solutions for mission support, homeland security, space, civil aviation, counter proliferation and counterterrorism markets. Raytheon Technical Services operates on all seven continents, has 9,500 employees and had 2010 sales of $3.2 billion. Customers include all branches of the U.S. military, NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, and other agencies of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as international governments. The local Raytheon Technical Services operation is part of the Customized Engineering and Depot Support operation in Indianapolis, Ind., which has 1,500 employees. The technical support operation is part of defense contractor Raytheon, based in Waltham, Mass. The company had net sales in 2010 of $25 billion dollars and has 72,000 employees. The Mississippi Enterprise for Technology is a technology transfer office and business incubator at SSC.
Post Office Box 1341 · Gulfport, MS 39502 Phone: 228.865.5003 Arnie Williams – [email protected] Website: www.mscoastalliance.com
partially funded by the
Balsa wood that's used as a core for the composite material fabricated at Ingalls Shipbuilding Gulfport Operations Composites Center of Excellence. The company's Gulfport operation supplies composite structures for Navy ships, but is also looking at a number of other commercial fields where composite structures could be used. Photo courtesy of Ingalls Shipbuilding
Alliance Insight • Volume V Issue II • Page 8