CSS employee owners supporting NASA recently completed an upgrade of a new cold plate for Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules (SUBSA) ground unit. The Cold Plate is a piece of ground support equipment (GSE) that helps control the temperature of the SUBSA furnace for ground testing, similar to the Cold Plate in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) onboard the International Space Station.

machine (SUBSA) with large holes in the front
SUBSA on the International Space Station
(Credit: NASA)
Diagram of a SUBSA pointing out all the parts including the cold plate at the bottom

Diagram of the SUBSA on the International Space Station. 

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Expanding Our Offshore Wind Team

We’ve recently added several staff to bolster the offshore wind team at NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. With this full team of 13, our employee owners are able to provide more focused support in their areas of expertise, including mapping and spatial modeling, data collection, communications, project management, and partner engagement. Through this…

Entrance to an abandoned mine in a hillside

Assessing Contamination in Abandoned Mines

CSS supports the Environmental Protection Agency with assessing contamination within abandoned mines. There are thousands of abandoned mines throughout the western United States. Many of these mines are leaching heavy metals into nearby streams or have contaminated soils causing vegetation die off.   CSS employee owners conduct field work to assess the extent of this contamination.…

Octocoral in a tank

Planning, Preparing for, and Participating in a Major Partner Workshop

The Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) team with NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science attended a team meeting at the Wicker Center in Gulfport, Mississippi. CSS employee owners supporting this team (as part of our joint venture with RPI) participated in the meeting January 26-29. The objective of this workshop was for project managers, advisors, and partners to discuss 2025 accomplishments and plan next steps for 2026 and…