Press Release

NASA To Celebrate Opening of Advanced Propulsion Laboratory July 29 with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in Huntsville

By SpaceRef Editor
July 28, 2004
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What:   NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will celebrate the opening of NASA’s state-of-the-art Propulsion Research Laboratory with a ribbon-cutting ceremony July 29. State, city and county dignitaries are expected to join NASA team members to mark the opening.

The new 108,000-square-foot laboratory will provide cutting-edge research into new and advanced propulsion technologies that could one day open up the space frontier to more ambitious exploration of our Solar System and beyond. Its 23 labs provide more than 66,000 square feet to conduct experiments on advanced technologies, from solar energy to advanced chemical propulsion to simulated nuclear testing.

Engineers and scientists from Marshall’s Propulsion Research Center — the NASA organization that conducts advanced space propulsion technology research and the lab’s primary occupants — moved into the facility in April. The move consolidated into one centralized location work previously scattered among seven buildings across the Marshall Center.

Who:    Marshall Center Director David King will preside as Master of Ceremonies at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Among those scheduled to speak are William Readdy, NASA associate administrator for the Office of Space Flight in Washington; U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer of Alabama’s 5th Congressional District; and U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt of Alabama’s 4th Congressional District. Guests include Loretta Spencer, mayor of Huntsville.

When:   Thursday, July 29, 10 a.m. CDT

Where:  Propulsion Research Laboratory, Bldg. 4205, northeast of the intersection of Morris and Neal roads on Redstone Arsenal.

To attend:      News media interested in covering the event should contact Martin Jensen of the Marshall Media Relations Department at (256) 544-0034 no later than Wednesday, July 28. For access to the Propulsion Research Laboratory ribbon-cutting ceremony, media must report to Gate 9, Rideout Road exit off I-565. Vehicles are subject to security search at the gate. News media will need two photo identifications and proof of car insurance.

SpaceRef staff editor.