Astronaut Michael Foale (center) and Stennis Space Center officials met with Mississippi Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant (at rear podium) and Gulf Coast delegation members in Mississippi Senate chambers during NASA Space Day in Mississippi activities at the Capitol on January 30.

Stennis Space Center leaders and guests visit with Mississippi Senate members in chambers during NASA Day at the Capitol events in Jackson on Feb. 19. Standing at the Senate podium (rear) is Mississippi Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant. Standing at the lectern below are (l to r): Sen. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis; Partners for Stennis Chair Clay Wagner; NASA Shared Services Center Director Rick Arbuthnot; astronaut Rex Walheim; Stennis Space Center Director Gene Goldman; President Pro Tempore Billy Hewes, R-Gulfport; Sen. Ezell Lee, D-Picayune; and Sen. Tommy Gollott, R-Biloxi.

U.S. Senator from Mississippi, John Stennis (left) visited the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in mid-November 1967, where he was greeted at the Redstone Airfield by Center Director Dr. Wernher von Braun (right). During his visit to MSFC, Senator Stennis was given a tour and briefed on MSFC programs.

U.S. Representative Steve Scalise, left, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, right gather to watch as the core stage for the first flight of NASA's Space Launch System rocket undergoes a scheduled eight minute duration hot fire test in the B-2 Test Stand, January 16, 2021, at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The four RS-25 engines fired for a little more than one minute and generated 1.6 million pounds of thrust. The hot fire is the final test of the Green Run test series, a comprehensive assessment of the Space Launch System’s core stage prior to launching the Artemis I mission to the Moon. Photo Credit: (NASA/Robert Markowitz)

Astronaut Steven Swanson (front) speaks to members of the Mississippi Senate in chambers, with Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant presiding (rear), during NASA Day at the Capitol in Jackson on Feb. 10. Swanson was joined at the podium by Sen. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis (l to r), NASA Shared Services Center Executive Director Rick Arbuthnot, Stennis Director Patrick Scheuermann, Sen. Ezell Lee, D-Picayune, and Sen. Billy Hewes, R-Gulfport. Baria, Lee and Hewes all are members of the Mississippi Senate Gulf Coast delegation.

RIBBON CUTTING AT VERTICAL ASSEMBLY CENTER, MICHOUD ASSEMBLY FACILITY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014, (L TO R): CLAY KIEFABER, CEO OF ESAB (COMPANY THAT BUILT WELDING TOOL)…PATRICK SCHEUERMANN…ROBERT LIGHTFOOT…TODD MAY…MISSISSIPPI CONGRESSMAN STEVEN PALAZZO…CHARLIE BOLDEN…LOUISIANA SENATOR DAVID VITTER…VIRGINIA BARNES, VICE-PRESIDENT AND PROGRAM MANAGER FOR SLS - BOEING… MITCH LANDRIEU, MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS… JOHN ELBON, VICE PRESIDENT/GENERAL MANAGER, SPACE EXPLORATIONS – BOEING…PATRICK FORRESTER, ASTRONAUT…ROY MALONE.

Key state and community leaders celebrated April 6 with the signing of a construction contract for the state-of-the-art INFINITY Science Center planned near John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi. Gulfport Mayor George Schloegel (l to r), chair of non-profit INFINITY Science Center Inc., was joined for the signing ceremony at the Hancock Bank in Gulfport by Virginia Wagner, sister of late Hancock Bank President Leo Seal Jr.; and Roy Anderson III, president and CEO of Roy Anderson Corp. Seal was the first chair of INFINITY Science Center Inc., which has led in development of the project. Roy Anderson Corp. plans to begin construction on the 72,000-square-foot, $28 million science and education center in May. The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) also is set to begin construction of a $2 million access road to the new center. The April 6 ceremony was attended by numerous officials, including former Stennis Space Center Directors Jerry Hlass and Roy Estess; Mississippi Senate President Pro Tempore Billy Hewes, R-Gulfport; Mississippi Rep. Diane Peranich, D-Pass Christian; and MDOT Southern District Commissioner Wayne Brown.