Blue Origin will test Alabama-made rocket engines at historic NASA site
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Private space company Blue Origin will refurbish the historic test stands at Marshall Space Flight Center to support testing of the BE-3U and BE-4 rocket engines built at a new Blue Origin facility in Huntsville. Test Stand 4670 served as a the backbone for Saturn V propulsion testing for the Apollo program,…
4 Alabama firms tapped for work on new Airbus A220 assembly line
Birmingham-based HPM, which is overseeing the construction of a second assembly line at Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Mobile, announced that four other Alabama firms will play major roles in the project. The new assembly line will allow Airbus to accelerate production of a second aircraft in Alabama, the A220 passenger jet. Airbus said the expansion…
GE Aviation to boost 3-D printing in Auburn with milestone expansion
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Governor Kay Ivey announced today that GE Aviation plans to invest $50 million to expand the additive manufacturing operation at its Auburn facility, the aerospace industry’s first site to mass produce a jet engine component using 3-D printing technologies. As part of the project, GE Aviation will create 60 jobs and install…
Blue Origin launches construction of $200M Alabama rocket engine plant
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Space flight company Blue Origin this morning kicked off construction on a $200 million plant in Huntsville that will produce the BE-4 rocket engine for future national security and other missions. The 200,000-square-foot facility will be built on 46 acres at the corner of Explorer Boulevard and Pegasus Drive in Cummings Research Park.…
Airbus kicks off construction on A220 assembly line in Mobile
MOBILE, Alabama – Governor Kay Ivey joined leaders of Airbus, top local officials and others at the Mobile Aeroplex today for a groundbreaking ceremony to launch construction of the company’s new A220 aircraft manufacturing facility. The assembly line will satisfy the strong and growing U.S. demand for the A220 aircraft, the newest offering in Airbus’…
Airbus teams with AIDT to hire 600 new workers to fuel Alabama growth
MOBILE, Alabama – Airbus said today it is working with AIDT to seek candidates to fill the first manufacturing positions at a new assembly line for A220 aircraft at the company’s production facility in Mobile. In addition, Airbus said it is hiring for production positions at its existing A320 Family aircraft manufacturing line on its…
GE Aviation’s Alabama milestone: 30,000 additive fuel nozzles
AUBURN, Alabama — GE Aviation’s plant in Auburn achieved a milestone this week — the 30,000th additively-manufactured fuel nozzle tip “grew” on a 3D printer at the facility, the industry’s first site for mass production using the additive manufacturing process. Employees at GE Aviation in Auburn began producing the nozzle tip in 2015. More 3D printers…
ULA selects Blue Origin engines for Vulcan rocket in boost for Alabama
United Launch Alliance announced today that it has selected Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine to power ULA’s next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket, a development that boosts to Alabama’s growing aerospace industry and extends the state’s leadership position in rocketry. ULA, which produces Atlas V and Delta IV rockets at a facility in Decatur, said the Blue Origin…
Airbus kicks off construction on Flight Works Alabama education center
MOBILE, Alabama – Flight Works Alabama, a new aviation experience center near Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Mobile, is ready to begin its take off. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey joined Airbus executives, city and county leaders from Mobile, and industry and educational partners in breaking ground today for the hands-on instructional facility. In May 2017, Ivey announced…
Continental Motors embarks on $75 million Alabama factory project
MOBILE, Alabama – A $75 million project to transform Continental Motors’ aircraft-engine manufacturing operations at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley is taking off. On Thursday, the company hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its “Blue Marlin” project, which involves the construction of an advanced manufacturing facility for the production of piston and turbine engines for light…
