SustainSpace, from page 18
Plant Germination During Spaceflight to Test for the Adaptability of Crops in Long-term Space Missions Current mission windows, frequencies, and configurations limit the ability to grow and evaluate multiple generations of plants in space. SustainSpace uses the relatively frequent flights of the SNC Dream Chaser and its controlled landing to grow several successive generations of plants in a space environment and produce a rapid evolutionary and selection process. This is an iterative process for rapidly evolving and improving populations of plants in the space environment. The primary targets are users of life support systems in space but also research institutions, the agriculture industry, and STEM education. SustainSpace uses flight-rated, automated plant growth chambers, such as those already developed for NASA. Benefits: • Crops better suited to space life support; faster growing, improved microgravity adaptation, better CO2 and waste usage • Improved characteristics for future plants grown on Earth in extreme or special conditions • Higher CO2-absorbing plants to reduce climate change
Niche Market, from page 25 Clark says SEA’s longevity in the niche market of mil-spec wire and cable stems from the people from Madison County, like Griffin and Town, who are compelled to invest in their workplace and community long-term to create a “high performance family environment.” “Our key has been hiring or recruiting the absolute best people we can find. Managing them and making it our goal in life to make them the best that they can be through training and experience and really taking care of our people,” Clark said. “As much as we’ve grown, to a little over 100 people, we still try to maintain a family atmosphere. So you find that while I’ve been here over 30 years, there’s still a handful of people who have been here longer than me, and, our average employee has been here for nine and a half years.” SEA has grown 47 percent in the last five years, with a steady growth pattern of about 11 percent each year. The company has sales operations in Utah, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, and Texas, and is headquartered at the more than 80,000-square-foot facility in Madison, Alabama. Most major military defense contractors or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have a presence in Madison County, Clark said. “What I see in general through all of this is the involvement that people have in this area have in the community – whether it be sports, theatre, or through school involvement – it’s just really the type of people you want to be around because they’re interested in making the community a better place,” said Clark. “That transcends right into the workforce here, where they want this to be the best place possible. You know they’re taking care of their families, they’re involved in their communities. Those are the types of people that you want to be around. The overall mood of people in the Madison County area is positive and above average.”
Jennifer R. Statham 28
initiatives feb 2018
A HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY CHAMBER PUBLICATION