{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=da0d793d-b2ec-4407-8b21-361505db2815", "COCHRAN:  SPACE-X DECISION BODES WELL FOR JOB GROWTH IN SOUTH MISSISSIPPI", "2013-10-23", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Thad Cochran", "C000567", "www.cochran.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today said the agreement signed today between the State of Mississippi and the commercial space company SpaceX bodes well for future job growth at and around NASA\u2019s John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County.\r\nCochran commended the accord which will involve SpaceX investing in the E-2 test stand at Stennis to support engine research, development and testing of the firm\u2019s Raptor methane rocket engines.\u00a0 The agreement, signed by Governor Phil Bryant, also involved the Mississippi Development Authority, Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission and NASA.\u00a0\r\n\u201cWe have been talking with SpaceX for many years about working at Stennis Space Center, and I am pleased to officially welcome them to our Mississippi family.\u00a0 I hope this is just the beginning of their endeavors in our state,\u201d Cochran said. \u201cOur state wins through this beneficial public-private contract that will enhance the Space Center\u2019s historic role in rocket engine testing and as a center for technical activity and skilled jobs.\u201d\r\n\u201cI appreciate all the good work put into reaching this agreement, including the efforts of Governor Bryant, the Mississippi Development Authority and local leaders in South Mississippi.\u00a0 It is proof that we have a team in place that helps make Mississippi a great place to do business,\u201d he said.\r\nAs a long standing member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Cochran has worked hard to ensure that Stennis Space Center has the assets necessary to support both government and private-sector missions.\u00a0 In recent years, Cochran has supported appropriations measures to upgrade aging Stennis infrastructure, including resources for the E-complex that SpaceX will be further outfitting for methane rocket experiments.\r\nIn addition to his work on the E-complex, Cochran authored a FY2012 appropriations provision requiring NASA to examine and report on the condition and necessity of the massive B-2 test stand, which is used by NASA for large rocket engine systems tests.\u00a0 That report elicited a NASA decision to request $12 million in FY2012 appropriations to initiate the rehabilitation and reuse of the existing B-2 test stand to support the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) program.\u00a0 The NASA report also identified a need for further upgrades to the B-2 stand and led to Cochran successfully securing $168 million in FY2013 funding to keep the B-2 test stand upgrade on schedule for the development of SLS.\r\nCochran was also closely involved in crafting the 2010 NASA Reauthorization Act, through which Congress directed the commencement of the SLS program to replace the Space Shuttle program.\r\n\u201cA robust test infrastructure is important to ensuring future astronauts will be as safe as possible when they climb aboard the next generation of rockets,\u201d Cochran said. \u201cStronger testing saves money in the long run, and there\u2019s no better place in the world to test rocket engines than Hancock County, Mississippi.\u201d\r\nLINKS:  \u2022\u00a0\u00a0 Mississippi Development Authority: http://www.mississippi.org/   \u2022\u00a0\u00a0 Stennis Space Center:\u00a0 http://1.usa.gov/19s4DaD   \u2022\u00a0\u00a0 SpaceX:\u00a0 http://www.spacex.com/   \u2022\u00a0\u00a0 March 2012 Cochran statement on Stennis: http://1.usa.gov/1bUoO15\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=da0d793d-b2ec-4407-8b21-361505db2815"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9623430669307709, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}