Lagniappe for June 2024

[NASA]

9 Min Read

Lagniappe for June 2024

Explore the June 2024 issue, featuring an innovative approach to infrastructure upgrades, how NASA Stennis has helped one family build a generational legacy and more!

Explore Lagniappe for June 2024 featuring:

• NASA Employs Innovative Approach for Key Test Infrastructure Upgrade
• NASA Stennis Helps Family Build a Generational Legacy
• Employees Receive Awards and Recognitions

Gator Speaks

Gator Speaks

NASA/Stennis

Gator is certain you have heard the saying, “Together, Everyone Achieves More” when referencing a benefit that comes with being part of a team.

Whether you are a high school or college student graduating at this time of year, or an employee at NASA’s Stennis Space Center receiving a NASA Honor Award or Space Flight Awareness Honoree Award last month, we all reach a point where we recognize the positive impact others have had on where we are in life.  

Since NASA’s founding in 1958, the agency has pushed the boundaries of scientific and technical limits to explore the unknown.

NASA has accomplished great things benefiting all of humanity because of people from all backgrounds coming together to contribute their skills as one team to further understanding of the universe.

This month’s Lagniappe features multiple pieces of evidence where teamwork is the underpinning to success, including the ongoing High Pressure Water Industrial Facility project at NASA Stennis and a story highlighting one family’s role as part of larger team contributing to the successful engine testing that has taken place for decades at the south Mississippi site.

If you need one last example of the benefit of coming together to achieve more, look no further than the Artemis Accords. A milestone was reached in May when Lithuania became the 40^th nation to join NASA and the international coalition pursuing a safer space exploration by signing the Artemis Accords.

Whether graduating high school or college, working at NASA, or joining the Artemis Accords with NASA, there is a good chance we all eventually arrive at a similar conclusion. While we can accomplish great things individually, being part of a team ultimately means that together, everyone achieves more.

NASA Stennis Top News

NASA Employs Innovative Approach for Key Test Infrastructure Upgrade

Crews are using an innovative engineering approach to upgrade an essential test complex water system that will help ensure the future of large propulsion testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Read More About the Infrastructure Upgrades

Center Activities

NASA Stennis Helps Family Build a Generational Legacy

For Lee English Jr., the sound of a ringing phone probably sounds a lot like the roar of a rocket engine test at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Read More About the English Family's Multi-Generational Legacy

NASA’s Stennis Space Center Employees Receive NASA Honor Awards

NASA Stennis Space Center Director John Bailey and NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations Kenneth Bowersox presented NASA Honor Awards to Stennis employees during an onsite ceremony May 15.

Read More About the NASA Stennis Award Recipients

NASA Employee Earns Senior Executive Service Status

Eli Ouder

NASA

Longtime NASA employee Eli Ouder has achieved federal Senior Executive Service (SES) status and has been chosen director for the Office of Procurement for NASA’s Stennis Space Center and the NASA Shared Services Center, both located near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Created in 1979, SES classification is designed for federal employees who use well-developed executive skills to administer programs at the highest levels of government. The leadership program requires candidates to demonstrate skills in five key areas – leading change, leading people, results driven, business acumen, and building coalitions.

Ouder has served as procurement officer since 2022 for NASA Stennis and the NASA Shared Services Center. During this time, he has led a combined 177-person procurement office responsible for managing a diverse and complex procurement portfolio valued at over $7 billion.

This broad and high-volume portfolio includes the responsibility of overseeing local Center Support Contracts, Grants and Cooperative Agreements, Small Business Innovative Research contracts, Small Business Technology Transfer program support, Enterprise Software Procurements, agencywide Enterprise Contracts, Simplified Acquisition Threshold Purchases, Government Purchase Card Program management, and other activities in support of the NASA enterprise. 

During more than 18 years with NASA, Ouder has served in numerous roles while managing and leading the NASA Shared Services Center, including as chief of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold Branch. In that role, Ouder led a major transition of approximately 4,000 Simplified Acquisitions annually from 10 NASA centers to the NASA Shared Services Center. He continued to serve in the role until January 2022 when he became procurement officer for the services center. In December 2022, Ouder was assigned as procurement officer at NASA Stennis as well. 

2024 Hurricane Guide

Explore essential information for employees at NASA’s Stennis Space Center to navigate the 2024 hurricane season.

Download the New Hurricane Guide

NASA Space Flight Awareness Program Recognizes Stennis Employees

NASA astronaut and Artemis II crew member Victor Glover stands with Honoree Award recipients from NASA’s Stennis Space Center following presentation of the awards during NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Program ceremony on May 4 in Orlando, Florida. Recipients (and their companies), along with ceremony presenters were: (left to right) NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip, Shelly Lunsford (SaiTech Inc.), Odie Ladner (Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company), Rachel Deschamp (Alutiiq Essential Services), Peyton Pinson (NASA), Jack Conley (NASA), Ronnie Good (NASA), and Glover.

NASA/Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s Stennis Space Center employees were recognized with Honoree Awards from NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Program during a May 4 ceremony in Orlando, Florida, for outstanding support of human spaceflight.

Jack Conley of Biloxi, Mississippi, is a NASA engineer in the Mechanical Operations Branch of the Engineering and Test Directorate at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. He was honored for his performance in test operations support of NASA’s core spaceflight mission. As backup test conductor, his work was instrumental in the successful Green Run testing of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) core stage at NASA Stennis prior to its use on the Artemis I mission.

Rachel Deschamp of Pass Christian, Mississippi, is an order clerk for Alutiiq Essential Services at NASA Stennis. She was recognized for attention to detail and commitment to success in enabling Alutiiq’s ability to meet and support NASA Stennis’ requirements.

Ronnie Good of Waveland, Mississippi, is a NASA engineer in the Safety, Quality and Management Systems Division of the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate at NASA Stennis. He was recognized for contributions in leading a year-long systems transition used to record facility safety inspections and manage safety findings for NASA Stennis’ test and institutional facilities.

Odie Ladner of Poplarville, Mississippi, is a lead welder and test technician for Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company, at NASA Stennis. Ladner was recognized for his commitment and support of human spaceflight initiatives and programs and performance of weld repairs to RS-25 nozzle tubes in support of certification testing at NASA Stennis.

Shelly Lunsford of Long Beach, Mississippi, is a senior forms designer for SaiTech Inc. at NASA Stennis. She was honored for her professionalism and dedication in consolidating NASA Stennis and NASA Shared Services Center’s forms to enable customers and users to increase efficiency and create valid data and reports.

Peyton Pinson of Madison, Mississippi, is a NASA engineer in the Mechanical Operations Branch of the Engineering and Test Directorate at NASA Stennis. He was honored for his performance in test operations support to NASA’s core mission of spaceflight. As a mechanical test operations engineer, Pinson supports propulsion activities across the NASA Stennis test complexes.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Space Operations Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Kenneth Bowersox, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Catherine Koerner, and NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip presented the Honoree Awards.

Glover was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013 and is currently assigned as the pilot of NASA’s Artemis II mission to the Moon. He previously served as the pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station as part of Expedition 64.

In recognition of flight program contributions, the Stennis employees toured NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and participated in activities in conjunction with the first launch attempt of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test of the Starliner spacecraft. The Crew Flight Test will launch Starliner and NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on a United Launch Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Program recognizes outstanding job performances and contributions by civil service and contract employees throughout the year and focuses on excellence in quality and safety in support of human spaceflight. The Honoree Award is one of the highest honors presented to employees for their dedication to quality work and flight safety. Recipients must have contributed beyond their normal work requirements toward achieving a particular human spaceflight program goal; contributed to a major cost savings; been instrumental in developing material that increases reliability, efficiency or performance; assisted in operational improvements; or been a key player in developing a beneficial process improvement.

For information about Space Flight Awareness awards, visit:

Spaceflight Awareness Awards and Criteria – NASA

For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit:

Stennis Space Center – NASA

NASA Stennis Leaders Attend Aerospace and Defense Symposium

NASA Stennis Center Director John Bailey, right, is shown at the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology’s Mississippi Aerospace and Defense Symposium in Oxford, Mississippi. Bailey and Strategic Business Development Office Manager Duane Armstrong joined fellow aerospace and defense industry leaders and experts to explore opportunities and challenges facing the sector in the state during the event April 29 through May 2.

Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services/Thomas Graning

NASA Stennis Leaders Recognize Employees for Working Safely

Rodney McKellip, associate director of NASA’s Stennis Space Center, and Gary Benton, director of the NASA Stennis Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate, are shown, from right to left, with employees working on the High Pressure Industrial Water Facility project near the Fred Haise Test Stand. The NASA Stennis leaders visited work sites on May 8 to recognize employees with NASA SHAKERS (Smart Human Actions Keep Everyone Really Safe) Awards for conducting work in a safe manner. NASA’s constant attention to safety, one of the agency’s five core values, is the cornerstone for mission success.

Gary Parker, an employee with Healtheon, Inc., is presented a NASA SHAKERS (Smart Human Actions Keep Everyone Really Safe) Award from NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip on May 8. Parker, left, received the award for leadership and dedication to safety of the crew working to upgrade an essential test complex water system at NASA Stennis. As one of the crew leaders, Parker ensured all took the safest approach for each task, even as the scale of the project increased. NASA’s constant attention to safety, one of the agency’s five core values, is the cornerstone for mission success.

Matt Roberts, an employee with Healtheon, Inc., is presented a NASA SHAKERS (Smart Human Actions Keep Everyone Really Safe) Award from NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip on May 8. Roberts, left, received the award for leadership and dedication to safety of the crew working to upgrade an essential test complex water system at NASA Stennis. As one of the crew leaders, Roberts ensured all took the safest approach for each task, even as the scale of the project increased. NASA’s constant attention to safety, one of the agency’s five core values, is the cornerstone for mission success.

Joshua Laurent, an employee with Civil Works Contracting, is presented a NASA SHAKERS (Smart Human Actions Keep Everyone Really Safe) Award from NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip on May 8. Laurent, left, received the award for continuously demonstrating safe work habits, utilizing the proper personal protective equipment for each task, and always considering environmental factors and hazards within the work area while working on the NASA Stennis potable water system. NASA’s constant attention to safety, one of the agency’s five core values, is the cornerstone for mission success.

NASA in the News

• NASA Earns Best Place to Work in Government for 12 Straight Years – NASA
• X-59 Passes Milestone (nasa.gov)
• Artemis Accords Reach 40 Signatories as NASA Welcomes Lithuania – NASA
• NASA Tests Technology, Practices Artemis Moonwalks in Arizona Desert – NASA

Employee Profile

Cassi Meyer, attorney-adviser for the NASA Office of the General Counsel, is pictured at her home office in Cleveland, where she supports NASA’s efforts to collaborate with commercial industry at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

NASA/Cassi Meyer

Cassi Meyer can certainly testify that the nontraditional path taken from law school to NASA has landed her in the right place to work with the diverse workforce at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Read More About Cassi Meyer

Looking Back: Seeing the Engine Up Close

NASA Administrator Robert Frosch (left), along with astronaut candidates Sally Ride and Terry Hart, get a close look at a space shuttle main engine installed on the B-2 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center, then known as National Space Technology Laboratories, during a visit on June 1, 1979. A space agency filled with trailblazers, the late Sally Ride was a pioneer of a different sort. The soft-spoken California physicist broke the gender barrier on June 18, 1983, when she became the first American woman in space. Meanwhile, Hart flew as a mission specialist on STS-41C (April 6-13, 1984) and logged a total of 168 hours in space.

NASA

Additional Resources

• NASA Stennis Overview – Going Further
• Certifying Artemis Rocket Engines – NASA

Subscription Info

Lagniappe is published monthly by the Office of Communications at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The NASA Stennis office may be contacted by at 228-688-3333 (phone); ssc-office-of-communications@mail.nasa.gov (email); or NASA OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS, Attn: LAGNIAPPE, Mail code IA00, Building 1111 Room 173, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (mail).

The Lagniappe staff includes: Managing Editor Lacy Thompson, Editor Bo Black, and photographer Danny Nowlin.

To subscribe to the monthly publication, please email the following to ssc-office-of-communications@mail.nasa.gov – name, location (city/state), email address.

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