Millennium Supports Successful Launch of NASA’s Most Ambitious Mission to Mars to Date
For Information Contact: Ken Baird kbaird@meicompany.com
Millennium Engineering and Integration Company, (www.meicompany.com), a leading provider of high-end system engineering services and solutions to U.S. Government programs of national significance, supported NASA and the Air Force 45th Space Wing in the successful preparation and launch of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Launched on 26 November 2011 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), in Florida, the MSL spacecraft began a 9-month interplanetary journey to Mars. The MSL's components include a car-sized rover named Curiosity, which has 10 multinational science instruments designed to search for signs of life, including methane, and help determine if the gas is from a biological or geological source.
Millennium provided mission assurance, quality and safety engineering support services to the launch vehicle and spacecraft while processed at the launch site, as well as NASA Range Safety support on launch day. “At Millennium we pride ourselves in contributing to programs of national significance, but today I think our team took it a step further in ensuring the success of an endeavour of great international and human significance,” said Noel Rodriguez an engineer with the team.
About Millennium
Millennium Engineering and Integration Company is an employee-owned small business with world-class systems integration capability for end-to-end mission assurance. Our expertise includes systems engineering and technical analysis, integration and testing, test facility development, test and evaluation, sensor systems, software development, safety and mission assurance, range safety and operations, and program engineering management.
Curiosity Launch Vehicle, Artist's Concept
Below is an artist concept of the Atlas V541 launch vehicle that carried NASA's Curiosity rover on its way to Mars. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)