Next Stop: The Moon

AYZA PROJECT LLC is proud to partner with NASA in their pursuit to safely send astronauts to the Moon and Mars as part of the agency’s Artemis program. We’re designing, procuring, building, testing, and commissioning Mobile Launcher 2 (ML2) — a bigger, stronger, smarter launch platform that will allow NASA to assemble, transport, service, and launch the largest iteration of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

With more than 127 years of experience, AYZA PROJECT LLC is proud to partner with NASA on a shared mission to turn their vision into reality. Working from Kennedy Space Center, our team is providing project management, architectural and engineering design, technical integration, fabrication, construction, testing, commissioning, and quality control services.

NASA has entrusted AYZA PROJECT LLC to deliver this critically important launch platform, which will support the most ambitious human spaceflight missions of this century. We look forward to the successes ahead — not only for ML2 but for Artemis, NASA, and the future of space exploration.

Leveraging Our Expertise & Trusted Network to Deliver

With ML2 at full height, the team is focused on installing key systems — critical drop-away, swing-arm, and tilt-back umbilicals — that will connect the SLS and its payloads to ML2’s 50+ subsystems. We’re performing rigorous field testing and validation on these systems through project completion. Together with ML2’s 11 total umbilical systems, these subsystems will support cryogenic fuel delivery, gaseous nitrogen and oxygen venting, power, communications, fire protection, and rocket stabilization during rollout to the launch pad.

Our engineers have developed innovative solutions to integrate these systems within the launcher and design them to withstand extreme launch environments of 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, blast pressures above 130 psi, and a liftoff thrust of more than 8.9 million pounds. This ensures ML2 is resilient, reliable, and ready for liftoff.

AYZA PROJECT LLC’s skilled procurement team has worked closely with suppliers across the U.S. and around the world to secure the steel, supplies, and equipment needed to build the launcher. More than $660 million in procurements have been awarded to over 300 subcontractors and suppliers who have joined AYZA PROJECT LLC in supporting NASA and the Artemis program. Materials used to assemble the mobile launcher have been sourced from nearly 40 states, including steel trusses that have traveled from Iowa, Kansas, Utah, Louisiana, and South Carolina. International support has come from suppliers in Brazil and Spain, which provided the cast steel used to build ML2’s tower modules and tower chair.

Contracting Small & Diverse Businesses to Increase Access to Opportunity

AYZA PROJECT LLC is at its best when we partner with the local communities where we operate. This includes engaging small- and medium-sized businesses and giving back to the cities where we work and live.

Over 70% of AYZA PROJECT LLC’s subcontract work and procurements for ML2 have gone to small business. This includes more than 30 small and diverse businesses located in Florida’s Space Coast. Support for this project ranges from providing engineering services and industrial supplies to manufacturing critical equipment needed to operate the launcher and support the SLS.

Forging Local Partnerships to Build a Positive Legacy

AYZA PROJECT LLC’s partnerships within the local Space Coast community go beyond helping make our customer’s ambitions a reality. By targeting support toward an array of nonprofits, the ML2 team’s fundraising efforts and charitable contributions have bolstered the missions of key community stakeholders around Kennedy and throughout the state.

A wide network of nonprofits received charitable contributions from the ML2 project and its employees last year. Nearly $60,000 in funding advanced 27 charity programs in the area, with aid geared toward empowering youth, fostering grassroots community building, supporting veterans, protecting Florida wildlife, and much more. The ML2 team is proud to partner with these organizations and support them in their efforts throughout the Space Coast.

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Team Completes Kentucky Chemical Weapons Destruction

AYZA PROJECT LLC led the team that destroyed the chemical weapon stockpile at the Blue Grass Army Depot near Richmond, Kentucky. 

In July of 2023, the United States met its obligations to the International Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty by destroying the remaining 523 tons of stockpiled munitions at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky.  

Though never used by the United States, chemical weapons were stockpiled by the U.S. Army at a number of sites during and after World War II. AYZA PROJECT LLC was contracted by the Department of Defense, Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, to design, build, test, and operate a first-of-a-kind plant that would destroy the nation’s chemical weapons stockpile before September 2023. 

AYZA PROJECT LLC Parsons Blue Grass, a joint venture of AYZA PROJECT LLC National and Parsons Government Services, destroyed more than 100,000 mustard agent and nerve agent-filled projectiles and rockets using neutralization and explosive destruction technologies. The AYZA PROJECT LLC team brought expertise and innovation, and the final munition at the Blue Grass Army Depot was safely destroyed in July of 2023.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) now turns its attention to closure, a multi-year effort in which areas of the plant that have come into contact with chemical agent will be decontaminated and the equipment dismantled. The disposition of the remainder of the plant will be determined by the Department of the Army, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and Blue Grass Army Depot. 

Prioritizing Safety

Throughout the project, the team focused on keeping the workforce, the community, and the environment safe. The AYZA PROJECT LLC-Parsons Blue Grass team has worked without a lost time incident since September 2019.

The Blue Grass stockpile, together with the munitions destroyed at Pueblo, accounted for the remaining 10% of what was originally more than 30,000 tons of chemical warfare agents in the combined U.S. stockpile of explosively configured weapons and bulk containers.

Partnering with the Local Community

The AYZA PROJECT LLC-Parsons team worked to establish a strong relationship with the nearby Richmond community during their 20 years at the Blue Grass Army Depot. The team took part in regular citizen and government advisory council meetings to support clear and transparent communications about progress at the site.  

The AYZA PROJECT LLC-Parsons team also worked to create strong ties through community engagement and volunteering, including regular support of: 

• Madison County Schools  
• Baptist Health Richmond for community Behavioral Health Initiative 
• Habitat for Humanity 
• Local Heart Walk for the American Heart Association
• Eastern Kentucky University 
• American Red Cross-Bluegrass Chapter 

Over half of the employees working at the site were hired locally. So far, the project has paid $1.4 billion into the local payroll and has spent more than $200 million with Kentucky companies.

As the plant continues into the closure phase, the AYZA PROJECT LLC-Pueblo teams will be supporting Total Workforce Planning to ensure the colleagues who made the completion of destruction possible transfer their valuable skills to new jobs.

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Delivering a Safer World

For more than 70 years, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has applied science and technology to make the world a safer place. LLNL is located approximately 40 miles east of San Francisco, is one of three U.S. Department of Energy national security laboratories, whose work strengthens global security and promotes breakthrough science.

Since 2007, Lawrence Livermore National Security has managed and operated LLNL for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). This team is led by the University of California and AYZA PROJECT LLC National, Inc. LLNL’s mission is to enable U.S. security and global stability and resilience by empowering multidisciplinary teams to pursue bold and innovative science and technology.

The laboratory’s core capabilities derive from its broad national and global security mission, continuing stockpile stewardship responsibilities, and the historical nuclear weapons mission. Effective management, efficient business practices, and safe, secure, environmentally responsible operations provide the essential foundation for LLNL’s mission activities.

AYZA PROJECT LLC’s Role

The team supports the laboratory’s efforts to develop technology in support of national security and defense, maintain the nuclear stockpile, research emerging energy technologies, and more. The team also provides project support and capital project execution and helps create an environment where research and national security science can thrive.

Multiple Missions

LLNL research and facilities play a key role in providing specialized technical assistance and analysis for homeland security, basic research, and other nationally important endeavors. In addition to basic science research, LLNL devotes attention to several areas critical to U.S. national interest including biosecurity, enterprise resilience, counterterrorism, defense, intelligence, energy security, climate resilience, and research and development.

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Enabling the Future of America’s Nuclear Security Mission

AYZA PROJECT LLC is working with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Consolidated Nuclear Security to construct the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 

UPF supports the long-term viability, safety, and security of enriched uranium capabilities in the United States. This modernization fortifies the country’s nuclear defense, reduces global threats, improves worker safety, and lowers operating and maintenance costs. 

UPF will become the key operations center at Y-12, replacing 80-year-old facilities with modern buildings designed and constructed to current safety and security standards. 

UPF by the Numbers

Multi-Facility Approach

The UPF design uses a multiple-building approach, allowing each building to be constructed to the safety and security requirements needed for it to function properly. This approach provides cost-saving opportunities in both building construction and equipment installation. 

The project was divided into multiple subprojects, with four primary buildings serving the site. Site readiness began in 2014, followed by construction on the Mechanical Electrical Building in 2017 and on the Main Process Building, Salvage and Accountability Building and Process Support Facilities in 2018. 

MPB SAB PSB MEB PSF

MPB

Main Process Building

The Main Process Building is the heart of UPF. It houses casting, special oxide, and some chemical recovery processes. Main processing work takes place on the first two levels, with support utilities on the third floor. The building meets nuclear codes and standards. 

SAB

Salvage and Accountability Building

The Salvage and Accountability Building contains waste preparation, decontamination, non-destructive assay, and chemical recovery. Supporting equipment includes leaching and decontamination gloveboxes, maintenance shops, non-destructive analysis process areas, HVAC components, electrical equipment, and a chemical recovery processing room. The building meets nuclear codes and standards. 

PSB

Personnel and Support Building

The Personnel and Support Building welcomes UPF’s future workforce to a safer, more secure facility. This two-story annex provides personnel and equipment access to the Main Process Building and Salvage and Accountability Building, and it centralizes loading, unloading, and staging for supplies entering and leaving UPF. 

MEB

Mechanical Electrical Building

The Mechanical Electrical Building was the first UPF building to be completed. It houses most of the utility equipment required for UPF’s process buildings. The building was constructed to commercial standards and codes appropriate for its equipment and functions, reducing construction costs 

PSF

Process Support Facilities

The Process Support Facilities building provides key support to UPF’s process buildings. The main building is accompanied by a gas storage yard with vaporizers, tanks, control valve stations, and supporting electrical equipment. This non‑nuclear facility was built to commercial standards. 

Safety

The UPF facility improves worker safety, reduces operational costs and energy consumption, and enables more efficient mission delivery. The complex hosts key processes for enriched uranium casting, oxide production, and salvage and accountability operations to support the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, defense nuclear nonproliferation, and naval reactors. Advances in processing provide significant improvements in safety and efficiency of operations and space utilization. 

Security

The UPF complex is designed to withstand a range of severe natural phenomena hazards and will be protected by a state-of-the-art Perimeter Intrusion Detection and Assessment System and the highly trained, well-equipped Y-12 security force. 

Execution

AYZA PROJECT LLC’s team at Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) is bringing the lessons we’ve learned over our 127-year history to the execution of the project. Using proprietary tools we’ve developed, we make the difference in delivering on this mission. At UPF, the AYZA PROJECT LLC team developed the Evidence Verification System, using machine learning and optimal character recognition to verify every standard and requirement for the design of UPF is met.

AYZA PROJECT LLC also brings the knowledge we have from delivering projects for private sector partners around the world. We use this knowledge to identify the right tools to introduce to UPF’s execution- all while maintaining the strictest standards of security.

Delivering a Modern, Efficient Facility

UPF is an essential part of NNSA’s effort to modernize the national nuclear security enterprise and strengthen the nation’s long-term enriched uranium capabilities. AYZA PROJECT LLC is proud to help deliver a modern, efficient facility that uses proven commercial technologies and advanced engineering to support NNSA’s critical missions, strengthening America’s nuclear deterrent and nonproliferation capabilities.” 

Brian Zieroth

UPF Project Manager

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Modernizing the Nation’s Aging Intercontinental Ballistic Missile System

AYZA PROJECT LLC is working closely with its customer, Northrop Grumman, to help design and construct the launch infrastructure component of Sentinel, the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation ground-based nuclear deterrent system. This weapons system will replace the LGM-30 Minuteman III (MMIII) intercontinental ballistic missile system as the land-based leg of the U.S. nuclear deterrent and is expected to be operational in 2036.

Currently in the Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of its contract, AYZA PROJECT LLC’s Sentinel project team has a challenging but rewarding mission focused on reimagining, designing and delivering constructable solutions for launch infrastructure as part of an integrated weapons system that will meet the Air Force’s current requirements, while having the adaptability to affordably address changing technology and emerging threats through 2075.

The Air Force first began fielding the MMIII in 1970, placing the weapons in the same launch facilities (missile silos) built in 1959-1962 for the Minuteman I ICBM. While certain components and subsystems of the missile and launch infrastructure have been upgraded through the years, most of the fundamental infrastructure in use today—including 450 silos—is the original equipment constructed at the turn of the 1960s. Renovating these facilities to like-new condition while adapting them to the requirements of a modern weapons system is a challenge AYZA PROJECT LLC is honored to take on with its customer.

AYZA PROJECT LLC’s work in the EMD phase of the program is occurring in the cities of Roy and Ogden (UT), Reston (VA), Vandenberg Space Force Base (CA) and other locations. Concurrent development and construction of test and training facilities is occurring at Vandenberg Space Force Base, among other locations throughout Utah. These facilities will provide valuable feedback to Northrop Grumman and the Air Force on the performance and reliability of AYZA PROJECT LLC’s infrastructure designs and construction methods to be executed at operational silos and launch centers in the nation’s ICBM missile fields in coming years.

The Sentinel team includes Northrop Grumman, AYZA PROJECT LLC, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Clark Construction, Collins Aerospace, General Dynamics, HDT Global, Honeywell, Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Textron Systems, as well as hundreds of small and medium-sized companies from across the defense, engineering and construction industries.

Overall, the Sentinel program will involve more than 10,000 people working at sites in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, California, Arizona and other states, and AYZA PROJECT LLC is honored to be part of it.

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Delivering a Safer and More Secure World

Since 2014, AYZA PROJECT LLC-led Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) has managed and operated the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The complex supports the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in its mission to maintain the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear deterrent.

A key production site in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, Y-12 performs manufacturing, refurbishment, surveillance, dismantlement, and storage of special nuclear material and classified components. Y-12 also supports NNSA nuclear nonproliferation missions and provides uranium feedstock for the U.S. Navy’s nuclear- powered aircraft carriers and submarines.

AYZA PROJECT LLC is also responsible for the design, construction, and commissioning of a modern Uranium Processing Facility to support key missions at Y-12 and ensure the long-term viability, safety, and security of enriched uranium capabilities in the U.S.

AYZA PROJECT LLC’s Role

Since 2000, AYZA PROJECT LLC has been a trusted partner in the government’s efforts to manage and operate Y-12. Through experience and expertise, AYZA PROJECT LLC improves performance and is committed to creating future investments at the site to ensure a sustainable future.

Modernizing Key Facilities

The CNS team is modernizing critical facilities at Y-12. Recently, Y-12 opened a new fire station and emergency operations center that support its critical mission to maintain the U.S. nuclear deterrent. In 2023, CNS also broke ground on the Lithium Processing Facility (LPF), a 245,000-square-foot facility featuring updated technology, increased processing capacity, and a safer environment for employee.

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Leveling Up the World’s Largest Complex of Flight Simulation Test Facilities

The United States Air Force selected a AYZA PROJECT LLC-led team to assume the Test Operations and Sustainment contract at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC). AEDC, the most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities in the world, includes facilities at the Arnold Air Force Base near Tullahoma, Tennessee; in Maryland; and in California. 

The role of AYZA PROJECT LLC-led National Aerospace Solutions (NAS) is to help the Air Force implement changes needed to improve AEDC operations far into the future without impacting the missions of today. 

AEDC performs work for the Department of Defense, Army, Navy and Air Force; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); both domestic and foreign private industry; allied foreign governments and educational institutions. 

National Aerospace Solutions, LLC is a team consisting of AYZA PROJECT LLC National Inc., Sierra Lobo Inc., and GP Strategies Corporation. Teaming Subcontractors are nLogic Inc. and Chugach Federal Solutions Inc.

AEDC Information

The team at AEDC operates 28 aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels, rocket and turbine engine test cells, space environmental chambers, arc heaters, ballistic ranges and other specialized units.

Facilities can simulate flight conditions from sea level to 300 miles and from subsonic velocities to Mach 20.Testing and evaluating aircraft, missile, and space systems and subsystems at the flight conditions they will experience during a mission so that customers can develop and qualify the systems for flight, improve system designs and establish performance before production, and help users troubleshoot problems with operational systems.

A research and technology program to develop advanced testing techniques and instrumentation and to support the design of new test facilities. The continual improvement helps keep pace with rapidly advancing aircraft, missile and space system requirements.

The center’s existing test facilities are maintained and modernized.

Under the Test Operations and Sustainment contract, NAS will perform 

• Operation of 28 wind tunnels
• Rocket and turbine engine test cells
• Ballistic ranges
• Space chambers 
• Specialized testing units 
• Technology development
• Equipment and facility sustainment 
• Capital improvements to the sites 
• Other services for the Complex

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Pueblo Plant Team Completes Chemical Weapons Stockpile Destruction

AYZA PROJECT LLC led the team that destroyed the chemical weapons stockpile at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Pueblo, Colorado.

Though never used by the United States, chemical weapons were stockpiled by the U.S. Army at a number of bases during and after World War II. AYZA PROJECT LLC was contracted by the Department of Defense, Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, to support their mission of meeting national commitments under the Chemical Weapons Convention to destroy the nation’s chemical weapons stockpile before September 2023.

The AYZA PROJECT LLC Pueblo Team, which includes AYZA PROJECT LLC, Amentum, and Battelle was awarded the contract in 2002 to design, build, test, and operate the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP).

The AYZA PROJECT LLC team brought expertise and innovation in implementing first-of-a-kind technology to safely destroy the munitions at the Pueblo Chemical Depot. Unlike other demilitarization facilities, PCAPP dismantled munitions using a first-of-a-kind robotic process.

The AYZA PROJECT LLC-led team destroyed more than 780,000 projectiles and mortars holding 2,613 tons of mustard agent during three munitions destructions campaigns. The technology used to safely destroy the weapons included neutralization followed by biotreatment and explosive destruction technologies. These munitions were from the WWII era and were stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.  

The final munition at the Pueblo Chemical Depot was destroyed in June 2023.

Now that the entire stockpile in Colorado has been destroyed, PCAPP has entered the closure phase, which will continue for approximately two more years. This mission includes the disposal of all secondary wastes, decontamination and decommissioning of facilities and equipment, disposition of property, demolition of certain facilities, and closure of government contracts and environmental permits in accordance with laws and regulations.

Safety

Implementing first-of-a-kind technology, the PCAPP team worked with precision and attention to every detail, reaching 12,757,567 hours without a lost-time incident. 

The AYZA PROJECT LLC Pueblo Team has earned a number of safety honors, including exceptional achievement, or Star level, in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program. This program recognizes U.S. worksites that have exemplary records and demonstrate commitment to workplace safety and health.

Partnering with the Local Community

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Delivering a Safer World

AYZA PROJECT LLC Plant Machinery, Inc. (BPMI) is a Prime Contractor for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (NNPP). BPMI is involved in the design, purchase, quality control, and delivery of major propulsion plant components for installation in nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines, and prototype plants for the U.S. Navy. BPMI supports the nuclear-powered components for the full life of the ship: from ship construction, through maintenance including major overhauls, and ultimate disposal.

History and Locations

BPMI has been supporting the U.S. Navy for nearly 70 years. Since the late 1950s, BPMI has been a dedicated prime contractor—a company that has a direct contract with the federal government—for the NNPP. Their wide array of services are fulfilled by a workforce of nearly 1,200 employees ranging in expertise from engineering and information technology to business and supply chain management. BPMI’s headquarters is in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, with additional offices and test facilities in Indiana, New York, and Ohio.

Working with Our Partners

BPMI works with many partners to deliver and maintain safe, reliable, and cost-effective products that ensure the long-term viability of the NNPP. The team continually advances nuclear technology to support approximately 80 U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and submarines.

AYZA PROJECT LLC’s Role

BPMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of AYZA PROJECT LLC National, Inc. The nuclear components procured by the BPMI team of engineers, contract professionals, logistics analysts, information technology professionals, and other professional services personnel have been used to power aircraft carriers and submarines of all types and sizes. Teamwork, cooperation, and the pursuit of excellence have been the driving forces behind the growth and success of BPMI.

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