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NASA Names New Head of SLS Program, Birmingham Helps Flood Victims

phys.org

NASA’s new rocket program designed to eventually carry astronauts to Mars has a new   

  man at the helm. APR’s Alex AuBuchon has more.

            John Honeycutt has been named the new manager of NASA’s Space Launch System program.

            The program is currently in development at Huntsville’s Marshall Space Flight Center and aims to construct the largest rockets ever built.

            Honeycutt is taking over for former program manager Todd May, who was recently named deputy director of the Marshall Space Flight Center.

            NASA says Honeycutt will head over 4200 workers nationwide with an annual budget of $1.7 billion. The Space Launch System rocket boosters were successfully test fired earlier this year.

            The system is expected to carry the Orion spacecraft and a crew of astronauts to Mars in early 2023.

            The City of Birmingham is collecting donations to help victims of recent floods in South Carolina.

   Mayor's spokeswoman April Odom said in a statement that the city is collecting bottled water, canned goods, household items, diapers and more. The goods will be driven to Columbia, South Carolina on Monday morning.

   At least 19 people were killed after days of heavy rain led to widespread flooding and breached dams.

   Birmingham city officials say donations may be dropped off at the Boutwell Auditorium between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

            The 44th Annual National Shrimp festival gets underway this weekend on the coast of Alabama. Local restaurants set up booths for the event, as well as seafood vendors from around the region. The festival started in 1971 and continues to be a popular event with people from all over the country. Matt Mogan is the Chairman of the Shrimp Festival. He says this festival is more than just shrimp.

            “We have every year we put on music, we have arts and crafts, we have fine arts, and we have lots of good food right on the beach every year at the main beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama”

            The festival expects to see more than two-hundred-and-fifty thousand people over the course of four days. For more information visit the Shrimp Festival website.

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