Stennis Space Center - near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Stennis Space Center (SSC) is NASA's primary center for testing and flight certifying rocket propulsion systems for the space shuttle and future generations of space vehicles. Because of its important role in engine testing for more than three decades, SSC has been designated NASA's center of excellence for rocket propulsion testing. Stennis also is NASA’s lead center for rocket propulsion testing with total responsibility for conducting and/or managing all NASA propulsion test programs. Stennis Space Center will now be responsible for testing the upper stage of the Ares I and Ares V as well as the main stage of Ares V. NASA Stennis Space Center also plays a key role in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. This division of NASA is dedicated to understanding the Sun and Earth, changes in the Earth-Sun system and the consequences of the Earth-Sun relationship for life on Earth. Stennis Space Center is a leader in commercial remote sensing. Stennis Space Center and its partner organizations conduct research related to biological, chemical, geological, and physical processes, as well as man's influence on these processes. This is done through the study of coastal processes (land and ocean) in support of NASA's applied science program. SSC is unique in that NASA serves as host to 22 other federal and state agencies and university elements located at Stennis, including the U.S. Navy's world-class oceanographic and meteorological command.