'NASA Day in Baton Rouge' to Recognize Louisiana's Ongoing and Historic Role in Space Exploration

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, invite media to learn the latest about work and testing underway on the Space Launch System, Orion spacecraft and other programs in Louisiana during NASA Day in Baton RougeThursday, May 4, at the State Capitol.

From 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. CDT, NASA team members and interactive exhibits in the rotunda and on the Capitol lawn will give the public a look at SLS -- the most powerful rocket in the world, designed to carry astronauts and equipment on exploration missions deeper into space than ever before. There also will be displays of other NASA projects and related educational initiatives at Louisiana universities and schools, including students' work on robotics and student teams' participation in NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge.

NASA leadership attending will include Marshall Center Director Todd May; astronaut Andrew Morgan, who is a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and emergency physician; and Michoud Deputy Chief Operating Officer Malcolm Wood. Throughout the day, they and other NASA representatives will meet with Louisiana state leaders, lawmakers and the public to recognize the space agency's enduring partnerships in Louisiana and the state's critical role in human space exploration.

For more than 50 years, Michoud has been NASA's rocket factory. The skilled workforce built the stages for the Saturn V rocket that took humans to the moon, and the space shuttle external tanks that helped our nation learn how to live and work in space for long periods of time. Today, that workforce is preparing our nation for the next giant leap as they build the SLS's 212-foot-tall, 27.6-foot-wide core stage -- the largest rocket stage ever built -- and the Orion spacecraft's pressure vessel that will be the home for the crew on missions into deep space, including Mars. Altogether, Michoud supports more than 5,000 jobs -- 3,500 people go to work at Michoud every day -- generating an economic impact of more than $800 million nationwide and $342 million for the regional economy, which includes more than $99 million in annual wages and benefits.

Media interested in interview opportunities or other information about NASA Day in Baton Rouge should contact Janet Anderson at janet.l.anderson@nasa.gov or 256-724-0314.

For more information about Michoud, visit:

www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/michoud

For more information about NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, visit:

www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall

Janet Anderson
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-724-0314
janet.l.anderson@nasa.gov

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SOURCE NASA