MSE signs big contract with Army missile command

By The Montana Standard Staff - 07/30/2004

MSE of Butte has signed a five-year, $50 million contract with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command to continuedevelopment of the Mariah Hypersonic Wind Tunnel program.

"This is good news, it provides not only support for us but for our team members as well," said MSE President Don Peoples, who called the months of negotiations and funding for the program tense. "It's taken several months and there has been a lot of nervous moments in tight budget times.

"The contract with the Air Force on the Mariah project — designed to test hypersonic flight technology — ended in April.

The Army contract allows MSE to continue work and eventually build a prototype wind tunnel within the next five years. Hypersonic refers to flight speeds greater than mach 5, which is a designation five times the speed of sound.

"We're moving ahead, there are a lot of technical challenges, but it's really important to us," Peoples said. "Eventually if the prototype wind tunnel is built it will have a significant economic impact on Butte.

"MSE has been involved with the development of the Mariah program since 1998 and serves as that program's integrator for the entire wind tunnel program, which is becoming an important element of the National Missile Defense System, Peoples added.

Also working on the high-tech program are the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, Princeton University and other investigators.

"This places MSE in a very high-profile position with the national aerospace industry," said Dave Micheletti, head of MSE's Aerospace Division.

— Leslie McCartney,

The Montana Standard