Alabama rocketeer Tim Pickens talks space flight, rocket bikes
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Like the city where he lives, Tim Pickens has rockets in his DNA. Over the years, Pickens has earned a reputation for masterminding an unconventional propulsion system that took a private spacecraft to the edge of space and for quirky inventions that include a rocket-propelled bike. Pickens grew up in Huntsville at…
Secretary Canfield kicks off Alabama Paris Air Show effort: ‘Let’s go’
PARIS — Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield addressed a group of aerospace entrepreneurs, community leaders, economic development specialists and university representatives at a breakfast event this morning that kicked off the Alabama Paris Air Show marketing and recruitment effort. On the eve of the world’s largest aerospace business development and trade show, Secretary Canfield said Alabama’s…
Archangel Systems takes off with global aviation companies
AUBURN, Alabama – For Michael Greene, an electrical engineer with experience working on aerospace projects, it all started with failed mechanical gyros on a cross country flight in his private plane. Determined to create something more reliable, Greene started Archangel Systems in Auburn more than two decades ago. Fast forward to 2015, and Archangel now…
Dynetics rocket breakthroughs rely on 3-D printing, new methods
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Engineers and scientists in the Huntsville area are using next-generation manufacturing techniques and the latest advances in rocket engine technology to build cost-efficient hardware aimed at lifting U.S. ambitions in space and safeguarding security at home. Dynetics, a Huntsville firm with roots dating back 40 years, and partner Aerojet Rocketdyne are leaders…
Five trends lifting Alabama’s aerospace industry into new era
Alabama’s aerospace industry has already flown to the moon with the Saturn V rocket. Now, it’s ready for a new set of missions that will keep this critical sector of Alabama’s economy soaring in revolutionary ways. With aviation and aerospace officials from around the globe gathering at next week’s Paris Air Show, it’s time to…
In Kaiser hangar complex, Birmingham sees aerospace potential
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Economic developers think a sprawling hangar complex just off the main runway at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport can help Alabama’s largest city make a return flight to an aviation sector that’s taking off in the region. The 1.8 million-square-foot complex, last operated by Kaiser Aircraft Industries, stands on 180 acres just off…
Top economic developer to lead Alabama Paris Air Show mission
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield is leading an Alabama delegation to next week’s 2015 Paris Air Show as part of a strategic, team-focused effort to build on the state’s increasingly prominent position in the global aerospace and aviation sector. The Alabama team arrives at the industry’s most important business-development and trade show just…
Team Alabama at 2014 Farnborough Air Show (photo gallery)
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Team Alabama has returned from a productive 2014 Farnborough International Air Show after securing three project announcements involving more than 700 new aerospace jobs and participating in scores of company meetings. Governor Robert Bentley reported that the state’s air show economic development team, which included Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield, engaged in nearly…
Alabama firm building test stands for largest NASA rocket
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – NASA’s next-generation rocket will one day make an epic journey to Mars, but first it will have to pass trials at giant test stands now under construction in Alabama. Birmingham-based Brasfield & Gorrie has been awarded a $45.3 million contract to build two test stands that will ensure the Space Launch System (SLS)…
At Farnborough, Alabama cities connect with aerospace contacts
LONDON, England – Matt Parker, president of the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce, scurried down a crowded corridor in one of the pavilions at the Farnborough International Airshow for a scheduled meeting during the aerospace industry global trade event. Like many in the Alabama delegation at the air show, Parker had a full dance card…
