Students Visit Stennis Space Center

(From L to R) Michelle Beavers, Zachary Pinson, and Hali Pinson pose in front of the NASA Engineering & Test Directorate at the Stennis Space Center.

Three students, all recipients of a NASA Research Infrastructure Grant, began to formalize their research plans by visiting NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. While there they met with operators, testers, engineers, and others. The visit lasted an entire working day and also included visits to several testing towers. Dr. Ramona Travis, chief technologist of the Stennis Space Center, hosted the visit. She and Dr. Kardas planned the visit over the course of the last several months.

Above is the view of Test Tower B from atop of another nearby tower. Most of the test towers at Stennis were first constructed during the 1950s and others are much newer. The Saturn rocket motors were tested at Test Tower B.

While the students did not get a chance to witness an actual test, they saw pictures of previous tests and got a chance to closely examine where the tests take place.

The Stennis Space Center is one of NASA's smallest in terms of personnel, but the second largest (second only to the Kennedy Space Center) in terms of geographical area. The reason the site is so large is because the rocket motor tests are so loud. The towers are all located in the center of the complex so that the noise they create will only minimally disturb the people and cities nearby.

The SAU NASA research project will investigate how female and male undergraduate engineering students feel about their future job prospects given that more female engineers leave the profession after they graduate and begin to work.