MEDIA ADVISORY -- Newport News Shipbuilding Hosts Washington Submarine Keel-Laying Ceremony


NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Nov. 17, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

What: Media are invited to attend a celebration to lay the keel for the Virginia-class submarine
  Washington (SSN 787) at Newport News Shipbuilding. The ceremony is not open to the public.
   
Who: Elisabeth Mabus, daughter of Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, will serve as the sponsor.
  Secretary Mabus will be the keynote speaker. Other ceremony participants include
  Vice Adm. William Hilarides, commander, Naval Sea Systems Command;
  Vice Adm. Michael J. Connor, commander, Submarine Forces; Matt Mulherin, president, Newport
  News Shipbuilding; and Jeffrey S. Geiger, president, General Dynamics Electric Boat.
   
When: Saturday, Nov. 22
  3:15 p.m. Media arrival
  3:30 p.m. Media transported to event site
  3:45 p.m. Media set-up 
  4-5:15 p.m. Keel-Laying ceremony
   
Where: Media will park outside the 60th Street gate in the parking lot east of the Welding School
   and will be escorted and transported by bus to and from the site through the 60th Street gate
  (see directions below). The event will be held outside the Supplemental Module Outfitting Facility (SMOF). 
   
RSVP:  Confirmation of attendance is required. Please RSVP by noon on Thursday, Nov. 20.
  You must present a photo ID and be a U.S. citizen to be admitted to the event. Please RSVP to:
   
  Christie Miller, Huntington Ingalls Industries
  (757) 380-3581 
  Christine.Miller@hii-co.com

Please note that because this is an industrial setting, long pants and flat, sturdy, closed-toe shoes are required attire.

A webcast of the event will be provided at http://huntingtoningalls.com/ssn787. A live, multi-camera satellite broadcast of the event also will be provided. Satellite information is as follows:

Satellite: SES-02 (87 degrees west)
Transponder: Ku Band K07CD (18 mhz)
Downlink Frequency: 11849.0 Mhz
Downlink Polarity: Horizontal
FEC: 3/4
Symbol Rate: 14.385617
DVBS,QPSK Transmission, 4:2:0, 720p

Saturday satellite test window: 3:30-5:30 p.m. (30 minute approx.) 

Directions to Media Parking:

  • From I-64 (either westbound or eastbound)
  • Take Exit #264 to Interstate I-664 toward Downtown Newport News/Suffolk
  • Take Exit #5 (35th Street) to Warwick Blvd.
  • Travel approximately 3 miles on Warwick Blvd.
  • Immediately after 69th Street, make a U-turn on to Huntington Ave.
  • Merge into the right lane and continue to bear right on to Shipyard Drive
  • Continue downhill and stay straight, then follow signs to media parking

Huntington Ingalls Industries designs, builds and manages the life-cycle of the most complex nuclear- and conventionally powered ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. For more than a century, HII's Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII also provides engineering and project management services expertise to the commercial energy industry, the Department of Energy and other government customers. Headquartered in Newport News, Va., HII employs approximately 39,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit: