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Lagniappe for September 2024

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Lagniappe for September 2024

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman addresses audience members at the Silver Snoopy Awards at Stennis Space Center
Explore the September 2024 issue, highlighting NASA Stennis Silver Snoopy awards, center visits, and more!

Explore Lagniappe for September 2024 featuring:

  • NASA Honors NASA Stennis Employees for Flight Safety
  • Summer Interns Display NASA Stennis Work
  • NASA’s Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office Visits NASA Stennis

Gator Speaks

NASA’s Stennis Space Center keeps writing new history, and the front office announcement in August delights this ‘ol Gator!

The news delights me because the south Mississippi NASA center will continue to be in good hands with Christine Powell serving as the new deputy director. And talk about perfect timing – announcement of the selection came just a few weeks before the celebration of Women’s Equality Day on Aug. 26.

Gator is shown wearing a NASA baseball cap, dark sunglasses, red polo shirt and jeans on a yellow sunburst background; Lagniappe for September 2024 Gator Speaks cover
Gator Speaks
NASA/Stennis

In her new role, Powell now is responsible, along with NASA Stennis Director John Bailey, for coordinating all the rocket propulsion test capabilities onsite, along with managing the overall NASA center.

As the nation’s largest – and premier – propulsion test site, NASA Stennis supports test operations for both government and commercial aerospace companies. Powell’s depth of knowledge positions her perfectly for this new challenge.

Her record shows that she knows the ins-and-outs of NASA Stennis and is very-well versed on propulsion testing. Her career is also a testament to NASA developing its skilled workforce. Powell started as an intern at NASA Stennis in 1991. Following the internship, she worked as an instrumentation engineer and systems integration engineer before moving into leadership positions in 2004.

All in all, Powell illustrates perfectly the important role women play at NASA Stennis – in positions and roles all across the center. Women are a vital part of the NASA Stennis team, contributing to every area of the center’s work and mission.

NASA Stennis’ aim in the future is to operate as a multi-user propulsion testing enterprise that accelerates the development of aerospace systems and services by government and industry.

This Gator has witnessed many successful endeavors at NASA Stennis, and I am confident that Powell’s new role will have her adding value to this endeavor.

Just as the focus was on women’s equality last month, September provides a time to celebrate the hard work of all with Labor Day on the first Monday of the month. As we move forward, the newest deputy director’s journey at NASA Stennis proves that work is not merely a means to an end, but also a journey to realize one’s full potential.

Read More About Powell

NASA Stennis Top News

NASA Honors NASA Stennis Employees for Flight Safety

NASA Stennis congratulates the 2024 Silver Snoopy Award recipients from NASA Stennis and the NASA Shared Services Center. ‪
NASA Stennis Director John Bailey welcomes employees and guests to the Silver Snoopy Award ceremony
NASA Stennis Director John Bailey welcomes employees and guests to the Silver Snoopy Award ceremony on Aug. 21 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Program recognizes outstanding job performances and contributions by civil servants and contract employees. It focuses on excellence in quality and safety in support of human spaceflight.
NASA/Danny Nowlin
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman addresses audience members at the Silver Snoopy Awards at Stennis Space Center
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman speaks to employees and guests before presenting the Silver Snoopy awards on Aug. 21 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The Silver Snoopy is the astronauts’ personal award and is presented to less than 1 percent of the total NASA workforce annually. Wiseman will be one of four astronauts flying around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA’s path toward long-term scientific lunar exploration. The 10-day flight will test NASA’s foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, and the Orion spacecraft for the first time with astronauts. The RS-25 engines helping to power SLS were tested at NASA Stennis.
NASA/Danny Nowlin

The following employees received the Silver Snoopy award presented by NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman on Aug. 21 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center:

William Berry

NASA Stennis employee William Berry, a native of Diamondhead, Mississippi, is a metrology technician for Alutiiq Essential Services, LLC at NASA Stennis. The Picayune, Mississippi, resident received the honor for his dedication to duty and commitment to improving the operations of the center’s Measurement Standards and Calibration Laboratory. His contributions help ensure the laboratory achieves its fiscal goals of delivering customer equipment on time.

Allen Blow

NASA Stennis employee Allen Blow, a native of Yorktown, Virginia, is a principal engineer for Syncom Space Services at NASA Stennis. The New Orleans resident received the honor for providing engineering services to ensure the success of the SLS (Space Launch System) Exploration Upper Stage test project on the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) and the RS-25 engine test project on the Fred Haise Test Stand.

Michael Brown

NASA Stennis employee Michael Brown, a native of Cerritos, California, is a quality engineer for Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, at NASA Stennis. The Slidell, Louisiana, resident received the honor for his commitment to test flight support, attention to detail, and unwavering passion for spaceflight.

Tessa Keating

NASA Stennis employee Tessa Keating, a native and resident of Carriere, Mississippi, received the honor for her outstanding contributions to the NASA Stennis Office of Communications and to NASA. She continually provides excellent work in telling the NASA story to diverse audiences, including influential leaders, equipping them with a broader knowledge of, and appreciation for, the center’s role in the agency.

Rhonda Lavigne

NASA Stennis employee Rhonda Lavigne, a native of Pass Christian, Mississippi, is a corrective action request manager for SaiTech at NASA Stennis. The Gulfport, Mississippi, resident received the honor for her dedication to the NASA Stennis Audit Program. Her support ensures all reviews are well planned, audit objectives are met, and compliance for continual improvement of programs impacting the NASA Stennis mission is promoted.

Stephen O’Neill

NASA Stennis employee Stephen O’Neill, a native and resident of Poplarville, Mississippi, is a NASA industrial hygienist in the Center Operations Directorate at NASA Stennis. O’Neill received the honor for his contributions in helping the site achieve critical engine and stage test project goals for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.

Benjamin Stevens

NASA Stennis employee Benjamin Stevens, a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, is a NASA information technology specialist for the NASA Shared Services Center, located at NASA Stennis. The Picayune, Mississippi, resident received the honor for his expertise toward improving the integration and security posture of the NASA Shared Services Center’s information technology telecommunications and networking environment. His work enables shared services delivery to the agency’s engineers, scientists, researchers, and administrative professionals.

Glenn Varner

NASA Stennis employee Glenn Varner, a native and resident of Gulfport, Mississippi, is a NASA mechanical test engineer in the Engineering and Test Directorate at NASA Stennis. He received the honor for his performance and contributions to Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) operations for SLS (Space Launch System) core stage testing for Artemis I. Varner’s work helped improve facility performance and responsiveness, leading to successful testing of the SLS core stage.

Steven Wood

NASA Stennis employee Steven Wood, a native and resident of Picayune, Mississippi, is a NASA contract specialist for the NASA Shared Services Center, located at NASA Stennis. He received the honor for going above and beyond normal work assignments to accomplish several highly visible contract actions for NASA’s Early-Stage Innovation and Partnerships programs.

Thomas Wolfe

NASA Stennis employee Thomas Wolfe is a senior mechanical engineering associate for Syncom Space Services at NASA Stennis. He received the honor for contributions to numerous safe and successful government and commercial test projects at NASA Stennis, along with his record of consistent performance and achievement.

> Back to Top

Center Activities

Summer Interns Display NASA Stennis Work

NASA’s Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office Visits NASA Stennis

NASA’s Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office team members stand at the base of the Thad Cochran Test Stand during a tour of the test complex
NASA and contractor representatives working with NASA’s Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office stand at the base of the Thad Cochran Test Stand during a tour of the test complex on Aug. 15 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The program office hosted a Risk Workshop and Program Management Review meeting at NASA Stennis on Aug. 13-15. The representatives are from NASA Stennis; NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio; NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans; NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia; and NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA Stennis is preparing the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) to test the exploration upper stage, which will fly on future SLS (Space Launch System) missions as NASA continues its mission of exploring the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. The upper stage is being built at NASA Michoud as a more powerful second stage to send the Orion spacecraft to deep space. It is expected to fly on the Artemis IV mission. Before that, it will be installed on the test stand at NASA Stennis to undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems to demonstrate it is ready to fly.
NASA/Shane Corr

Java with John Hosts NASA Stennis Employees

NASA Stennis Director John Bailey hosts a Java with John session with agency employees
NASA Stennis Director John Bailey hosts a Java with John session with agency employees Aug. 22. The employee-led discussion happens in a relaxed environment with conversations aimed at fostering a culture where employees are welcome to share what matters most to them at work.
NASA/Danny Nowlin

NEX Stennis Receives 2023 Bingham Award

The Navy Exchange Service Command presented NEX Stennis with the 2023 Bingham Award
The Navy Exchange Service Command presented NEX Stennis with the 2023 Bingham Award during an Aug. 26 ceremony at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. NEX Stennis, a gas station and minimart at NASA Stennis, is one of nine winners for the award recognizing excellence in customer service, operations, and management. NEX Stennis and the Naval Construction Battalion in Gulfport, Mississippi, topped sales category six by earning between $2.5 million and $4 million for the year. NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip accepted the award on behalf of the center. Pictured (left to right) are Steve Dienes, NEX Stennis manager; McKellip; Robert Bianchi, rear admiral (retired) and chief executive officer of the Navy Exchange Service Command; and Katie Wilson, NEX Stennis general manager.
NASA/Danny Nowlin

> Back to Top

NASA in the News

Employee Profile: Joseph Ladner

Joseph Ladner’s experiences working at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, motivate him to “pay it forward” so more people can be a part of something great.

Joseph Ladner stands with his arms crossed under a tree in front of building at Stennis Space Center
Joseph Ladner stands at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, where he leads a team managing the budgets to fund the nation’s premier propulsion test site.
NASA/Danny Nowlin
Read More About Joseph Ladner

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Additional Resources

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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