NASA taps Alabama firm to build the world's best aerial imaging system. They deliver.

Three AIRS system equipped WB-57 aircraft in flight

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Birmingham-based Southern Research has received a 5-year sole source contract renewal from NASA in the amount of $9.95 million to continue to help with the Airborne Imaging and Recording System (AIRS system) used on WB-57 research aircraft for more than a decade.

The WB-57 is an American-built, twinjet tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that entered service with the United States Air Force in 1953. In 1983, the USAF opted to retire it, but the remaining flightworthy WB-57s are assigned to the NASA Johnson Space Center, next to Ellington Field in Houston, as high-altitude scientific research aircraft.

Southern Research began working on the AIRS project in 2003 after the Columbia Space Shuttle incident. NASA wanted superior monitoring for the STS-114 (space shuttle) return to flight and thus, AIRS was born. The new technology attached cameras to the WB-57s and capture full motion HD video of rocket launches ascending into space at distances far exceeding 25 miles.

“We consider it an honor to be able to support NASA, in any mission,” said Johanna Lewis, director, Program Management Office, Southern Research Engineering Division. “After the success of our initial AIRS project, NASA began to develop new applications for the technology, and we have been pleased to play an expanded role supporting NASA’s high-altitude research team ever since.”

Since 2005, Southern Research’s technology has been used to capture incredible footage for NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and even commercial companies such as Space X. AIRS has bee used in a different capacity for atmospheric research missions, high-altitude mapping, remote sensing operations as well.

“When it comes to working on and around the issues of space flight, there is endless possibility but no room for error,” said Michael D. Johns, Ph.D., vice president of the Engineering Division at Southern Research. “In order to be successful throughout the years, our team has embraced each new challenge with a level of dedication and professional intrigue that has allowed us to advance the AIRS technology and add value as partners in the expansion of the WB-57 program. The fact that NASA has honored us with a second sole source contract to continue this work is a signal that we have yet to cross the final frontier.”

But just add Southern Research to a string of Alabama success stories in the industry.

Alabama’s aerospace industry is now growing at a rate that could position it to one day challenge agriculture, automotive manufacturing and tourism for the title of the state’s largest engine of economic activity.

RELATED: Alabama’s aerospace industry soars, becomes economic powerhouse for state

“Our second fastest growing industry sector in the state now is the aerospace sector,” Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield told WKRG at the Economic Development Association of Alabama’s annual summer conference in Orange Beach.

Canfield specifically emphasized the importance of Airbus in the recent Alabama aerospace boom.

The Airbus facility at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile is used to assemble the industry-leading family of A319, A320, and A321 aircraft. The entire project represented a $600 million total investment and is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs within the production facility when it reaches full capacity. In addition, the construction phase of the project created nearly 3,200 construction-related jobs over a three-year period.

Airbus has also attracted a large number of aerospace industry suppliers to the state. The aerospace incubator Mobile Aeroplex is now completely packed with growing companies.

While the boom maybe relatively new for Alabama, with the contract renewal it is just business as usual for Southern Research. You can watch actual AIRS footage of a Space X Falcon launch in the clip below.