NASA’s Alabama hub simulates space hazards to advance exploration
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Inside Building 4605 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, there’s a portal to space and all of its extreme conditions. It’s called the High Intensity Solar Environment Test system, or HISET. NASA says the device’s chamber is the only place on earth where spacecraft systems and materials can, at the same time,…
Airbus links with Alabama universities to build new leaders
One of the ways Airbus is putting down roots in Alabama is through partnerships with local universities that aim to help shape the next generation of industry leaders. The aerospace giant has donated large airplane components to engineering departments at the University of South Alabama and Auburn University for students and faculty members to use…
Alabama aerospace exports rising as industry grows in region
LONDON — As aerospace companies continue to grow their operations in Alabama, their shipments of local products sent around the world are also on the rise. In 2015, Alabama’s aerospace industry exports topped $869 million, a 16 percent growth from the previous year, U.S. trade data shows. So far this year, the numbers are increasing…
Boeing Alabama research center targets ‘next 100 years of innovation’
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Boeing’s history in Alabama spans more than half a century, and one of its latest projects in the state is helping to chart the aerospace giant’s future. The Boeing Research and Technology Center, which opened a year ago in Huntsville, serves as a key hub for the company’s technology development. Announced in…
Mobile Aeroplex pursues growth strategy at Farnborough
LONDON — At Mobile Aeroplex, the home of Airbus’ U.S. passenger jet production center, the steel frame of a twin-bay aircraft paint shop is beginning to rise, a project that will add a new element to the complex’s growing aerospace cluster. At another site being redeveloped at the Aeroplex, an intermodal company days ago announced…
2016 Farnborough Airshow displays latest aircraft (photo gallery)
LONDON — The Farnborough International Airshow is one of the biggest events on the global aerospace industry calendar, a recognized platform for deal-making and relationship-building that drives billions of dollars in transactions. The 2014 installment of the air show saw deals valued at more than $200 million, and this year’s event is likely to follow…
SES Alabama operation expanding rapidly as MRO business grows
LONDON — Science and Engineering Services Inc. is well under way with a major expansion of its Alabama operations, a $70 million, 450-job project announced two years ago during the Farnborough International Airshow in London. Today, as world aerospace industry leaders and others — including an economic development team from Alabama, led by Governor Robert…
Rich in history, Alabama aerospace industry climbing to new heights
The Alabama aerospace industry first took flight with the Wright Brothers and later flew to the moon with NASA’s Saturn V rocket. It has has now added passenger jet assembly and next-generation manufacturing technologies to a wide array of capabilities. With industry officials gathered in London for the Farnborough International Airshow, it’s time to take…
Airbus Alabama facility primes for production ramp-up
Now that the first Alabama-made airplanes are rolling off the assembly line at the Airbus manufacturing plant in Mobile and taking to the skies, the big question is: What’s next? Plenty. In fact, the global plane maker has only just begun to make its mark on Mobile and Alabama, according to business leaders and market…
Boeing’s Alabama operations boost key space, defense programs
A longtime pillar of Alabama’s aerospace industry, Boeing continues to break ground in the state. Whether it’s designing commercial aircraft, developing missile weapons systems, or testing for next-generation, human-rated rockets, the aviation juggernaut’s Alabama operations figure prominently into building U.S. space and defense programs. Boeing’s Alabama workforce numbers about 2,750 people who work at two…
