Oct. 25, 1961:
NASA announces decision to establish
national rocket test site in Hancock County,
Mississippi.
Dec. 18, 1961:
Site officially named Mississippi
Test Operations (MTO).
May 17, 1963:
Workmen cut first tree to start
clearing the test area for construction.
July 1, 1965:
MTO designated Mississippi Test
Facility (MTF).
April 23, 1966:
First Saturn V rocket booster
(S-II-T) tested at Mississippi Test Facility.
Sept. 9, 1970:
NASA announces Earth Resources
Laboratory will locate at MTF.
March 1, 1971:
Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME)
testing assigned to MTF.
June 14, 1974:
MTF renamed National Space Technology
Laboratories (NSTL).
May 19, 1975:
First Space Shuttle Main Engine
tested at NSTL.
May 28, 1976:
Flag-raising ceremony marks the
official move of the Naval Oceanographic Program to
NSTL.
April 21, 1978:
First system test of Space Shuttle
Main Propulsion Test Article conducted-including three SSMEs
tested simultaneously.
June 11, 1987:
Mississippi Technology Transfer
Center dedication held.
Feb. 25, 1988:
NSTL conducts 1,000th test firing of
a Space Shuttle Main Engine.
May 9, 1988:
NSTL assigned key role for space
remote sensing commercialization.
May 20, 1988:
NSTL renamed John C. Stennis Space
Center by Executive order of President Ronald Reagan.
Jan. 18, 1989:
Construction begins on the Component
Test Facility to test turbopump machinery for rocket
propulsion systems.
Aug. 20, 1990:
First time SSME tests are conducted
on all three test stands in one day.
Dec. 30, 1991:
NASA Administrator designates SSC
Center of Excellence for large propulsion system
testing.
July 24, 1992:
Space Shuttle Main Engine program
achieves 2,000th test firing.
Aug. 11, 1993:
High Heat Flux Facility dedicated.
The facility tests materials to be used for hypersonic
spacecraft of the future.
May 1,1994:
SSME test operations program
management transferred from Marshall Space Flight Center to
SSC.
May 26, 1995:
SSC completes testing on new Block I
configuration SSME.
March 16, 1995:
First test conducted on a sub-scale
cryogenic fuel tank for the X-33 Reusable Launch Vehicle
(RLV) program.
May 19, 1996:
Endeavour is the first Space Shuttle to fly three Block
I SSMEs, all tested at SSC.
May 30, 1996:
NASA designates SSC as lead center to
manage capabilities and assets for rocket propulsion
testing.
July 2,1996:
NASA Headquarters announces SSC will
conduct and manage engine component testing for the X-33 for
the RLV program.
Nov. 24, 1996:
SSC designated as NASA's lead center
for implementing commercial remote sensing
activities.