December 8, 2019

Lockheed Martin Expanding at NASA Stennis Space Center, Creating 30 Jobs (Source: Hancock PortAirSpace)
Lockheed Martin is expanding its operations at NASA's Stennis Space Center (SSC) in Hancock County in a $20.9 million investment that will create 30 jobs. Lockheed Martin's primary activity at SSC is to design and build satellites and spacecraft for government and commercial customers. For the expansion, Lockheed Martin is centralizing select thermal production capabilities to its SSC location and will begin manufacturing products that are key components of all spacecraft currently manufactured by the company.

The Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance for building renovations. The project qualifies for tax abatements under the Hancock County Board of Supervisors’ current incentives program. Lockheed Martin currently employs 118 workers at its Stennis Space Center location. (12/3)

UCF Continues Streak as Top Workforce Supplier to Aerospace, Defense Industries (Source: UCF Today)
For the fifth year running – or flying in this case – UCF has been named the No. 1 workforce supplier of graduates to U.S. aerospace and defense industries, according to Aviation Week. In addition, the university was named the most “preferred supplier” from Florida to the industries and No. 5 in the nation. The preferred-supplier status is based on academic reputation, research and the success of alumni already in the industry.

The aerospace and defense industries are populated by graduates with a variety of UCF degrees, such as mechanical and aerospace engineering, industrial engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, computer engineering, business, communication and other fields. Several of the engineering degrees are offered fully online at UCF and can be completed from anywhere.

Many of the graduates in those industries are from UCF’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering programs. More than 4,000 students are enrolled in those programs, and more than 150 graduated with bachelor’s degrees and 23 with master’s degrees in the 2018-19 academic year. More than 550 have graduated with an aerospace engineering degree in the past five years. (11/27)