Here in my hometown of Huntsville AL, NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center is located on Redstone Arsenal. Last year we met there for about the last 3 weeks and a machine shop was right there, very convenient! We won’t have that luxary this year. After 9/11/01, trying to get on the Arsenal is a major head ache because of the high security, no one can go on without a an escort or something like that. I was just wondering does anyone else have a similar problem because of security issues, if so what are you doing about it?
We have the same exact problem getting into Naval Base here. Photo ID is needed and you can only gain access through an escort. Our situations are reverse though, we have a good machine shop at our school, but our field is on the navy base.
The war is going good, if they do capture Osama Bin Ladin, and destroy Al Qaeda & the Taliban, the security maybe drop down to what it was. It took a whole 2 months after the 9/11 attacks for the base to even allow visitors.
I have got a funny feeling that my team will be doing a lot more stuff in School than on the base this year.
As for a machine shop, I maybe would ask a local university if you could use it.
Last year I had my own badge for NASA Langley, which meant that I could get in and out without a problem. This year badges are a lot more rare, and student positions were the first to go. A real bummer too, they have an advanced machining shop which includes a 5 axis milling machine, along with a bunch of other high speed tools.
~Tom Fairchild~, who was really hoping to learn some more machining this year. 
I’m not sure if its in direct relation with Sept. 11, but this year when students check in at our facilities, we are required to have a badge. Other than that we still sign in at the ‘guard shack’ and sign out when we leave. This season, we will have access to a different machine shop of DuPont’s (our team just moved across the street). This one has many Bridgeports (mmmmm) and a variety of other tools - I think its the one the DuPont technicians use to prototype designs and even do final products.
*Originally posted by gniticxe *
**This one has many Bridgeports (mmmmm) **
Mr. Bridgeport has to be, without a doubt, our favorite machine in the whole wide world. It even has a name, if you count adding “Mr” to the brand name.
We won’t get to use 4619? Are you absolutely sure? Why not? That’s going to suck; maybe I should quit.
heh 
I like that - “Mr. Bridgeport”… it has a nice little ring to it 
I thought so, too. We love Mr. Bridgeport. How else could you cut a 10-hour wheel-filing job down to 1 hour in the shop?
team 95 has been using crrel for our work shop and our pratices and after the 9-11-01 attacks we have had problems trying to get in. we cant get in without photo ID, we have to have a esscort to go anywhere.