NASA’s Stennis Space Center teamed with Relativity Space on Sept. 7 as the company announced an expansion of site activity, signing a lease agreement to operate the historic A-2 Test Stand at the south Mississippi site near Bay St. Louis.
The new agreement supports NASA’s commitment to increase access to space and grow commercial markets to serve the nation’s interests. It also further solidifies NASA Stennis as an ideal testing location for commercial aerospace companies, large and small.
NASA Stennis Director Rick Gilbrech called the increased footprint a testament to Relativity’s continued progress in the commercial space arena. Relativity Space’s latest plans at NASA Stennis will convert the A-2 Test Stand infrastructure to support advanced vertical first stage testing of the company’s medium-to-heavy-lift reusable 3D-printed rocket, Terran R. With the redesigned stand, the company will increase its test capabilities and accelerate its development process.
The expansion adds about 30 acres to the company’s on-site footprint, which now totals 298 acres within the NASA Stennis test complex. Overall, the company is poised to invest some $267 million into its NASA Stennis operations, creating hundreds of new jobs in the next several years.
