AIMM Supports the NASA Launch of the Parker Solar Probe at the Kennedy Space Center

NASA scheduled extensive pre and post-launch media activities around the Parker Solar Probe launch on Sunday, August 12, 2018.

Rob Andreoli (AIMM) and Producer Anthony Stewart (Mori Associates Inc.) test systems and communications before the live broadcast. (Mark Hailey Photo)

AIMM employees Rob Andreoli, sr. project manager, and Sophia Roberts, media producer, supported the Sunset Show program and NASA live video events surrounding the launch.

Sophia Roberts on camera for NASA TV with the principle investigator and local TV live shots. (Mark Hailey Photo)

Dr. Eugene Parker had a theory over 60 years ago that created a firestorm of disagreement in the science community.

NASA photo – Dr. Eugene Parker

The Parker Solar Probe is named to honor Dr. Parker who proposed the existence of solar winds. Other experts doubted his theory until 1962 when the existence of solar winds was proven using data from the Mariner mission to Venus, which was the first probe to visit another planet.

Sometimes people sound a little puzzled as to why do you want to go to such a hotspot?” Dr. Parker said “And the answer is because we have reason to believe that interesting things are going on.”

The Parker satellite will pass within 3.8 million miles of the sun’s visible surface — well within the shimmering halo of the outer atmosphere, or corona — the spacecraft’s heat shield will endure 2,500-degree heating while whipping past the star at a record 430,000 mph, fast enough to fly from New York to Tokyo in less than a minute.

The goal is to help scientists figure out what makes the corona hotter than the sun’s visible surface and what accelerates charged particles to enormous velocities, producing the solar wind that streams away from the corona in all directions.

Additional information on the Parker Satellite: http://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu

 

The Launch video: https://youtu.be/50eruw-In5w

 

Project Overview video: https://youtu.be/zJo0tIxNLxU

AIMM Supports Fenway Park’s STEM Education Days

This May, The Boston Red Sox, in partnership with commercial sponsors, hosted two STEM Education Days at Fenway Park. On May 30^th, the AIMM team attended and filmed their Focus on NASA and Space event.

The event extended an open invitation to kids interested in STEM fields: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The morning featured displays, demonstrations and personal appearances by space engineers and astronauts. Over 4,000 kids attended!

The STEM Education Days Focus on Space and NASA event was sponsored by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, and many more technology institutions. School children from across the Massachusetts area were able to meet and speak with astronaut Sunita Williams and engage in hands on experiments and interactive exhibits. Afterwards, the students were treated to an afternoon Red Sox game.

AIMM is proud to have filmed Fenway Park’s STEM Education Days Event and to have witnessed young students engaging in STEM. For more information about our video production services, please visit http://www.aimmfed.com/services/production.html.

 

Mission Update: OA-8 Space Station Cargo Resupply

Orbital ATK is scheduled to launch its OA-8 mission to the International Space Station on November 11 with the five-minute launch window opening at 7:37 a.m. EST. The S.S. Gene Cernan Cygnus will launch aboard an Antares launch vehicle for the sixth time from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The spacecraft will deliver vital supplies and scientific equipment to the station as part of Orbital ATK’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. Integration and testing of the Antares launch vehicle and Cygnus spacecraft are complete, and spacecraft encapsulation is scheduled for later this week. Watch the launch live beginning at 7:00 a.m. EST on launch day on NASA TV.

Get live launch updates on our social media accounts: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Viewing Map for OA-8 Launch

*Weather permitting, the launch of Antares from Wallops Island, Virginia, on November 11, 2017 may be widely visible along the East Coast. However, because this is an early morning launch, it is likely that the sun will interfere with viewing from most locations.*

About Antares

Designed to provide responsive and low-cost access to space, Antares is a two-stage vehicle (with optional third stage) that provides low-Earth orbit (LEO) launch capability for payloads weighing up to 8,000 kg. Internally funded by Orbital ATK, Antares completed a risk reduction mission and a demonstration of commercial re-supply services for the International Space Station (ISS) under a NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement in 2013. Orbital ATK commenced delivery of cargo to the ISS under the NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract in 2014.

About Cygnus

Cargo is delivered to the station using Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft. The Cygnus spacecraft consists of two modules: the Service Module (SM) which incorporates the avionics, propulsion and power systems from Orbital ATK’s flight proven LEOStar and GEOStar spacecraft buses; and the Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) which carries the crew supplies, spares and scientific experiments. The SM is integrated and tested at Orbital ATK’s Dulles, Virginia satellite manufacturing facility. The PCM is supplied by Thales Alenia Space and is produced in Turin Italy.

S.S. Gene Cernan

Orbital ATK has named the OA-8 Cygnus Cargo Delivery Spacecraft after former astronaut Eugene “Gene” Cernan. As the last human to step foot on the moon, Cernan set records for both lunar surface extravehicular activities and longest time in lunar orbit, paving the way for future human space exploration.

Briefings, NASA Television Coverage Set for Launch of NOAA Weather Satellite

This illustration depicts the Joint Polar Satellite System-1, or JPSS-1, spacecraft designed to provide forecasters with crucial environmental science data to provide a better understanding of changes in the Earth’s weather, oceans and climate. Credits: Ball Aerospace

Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA are preparing for the upcoming launch of the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1), the first in a series of four highly advanced NOAA polar-orbiting satellites designed to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts out to seven days.

JPSS-1 is scheduled to launch at 4:47 a.m. EST (1:47 a.m. PST) Friday, Nov. 10, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. NASA Television and the agency’s website will provide live coverage.

JPSS-1 will use the most-advanced technology NOAA has ever flown in a polar-orbiting satellite to capture more precise observations than ever of our atmosphere, land and waters. It will provide meteorologists and other scientists with a variety of observations, including atmospheric temperature and moisture, sea-surface temperature, ocean color, sea ice cover, volcanic ash and fire detection.

Prelaunch and Science Briefings Nov. 8

NASA TV will air two JPSS-1 prelaunch news briefings on Wednesday, Nov. 8. Both briefings will be broadcast from NASA’s Press Site Auditorium at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

The prelaunch news conference will be held at 4 p.m. EST.

Briefing participants will be:

• Steve Volz, director, NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service
• Greg Mandt, director, Joint Polar Satellite System Program
• Sandra Smalley, director, Joint Agency Satellite Division, NASA Headquarters
• Omar Baez, NASA launch director
• Scott Messer, United Launch Alliance program manager for NASA missions
• Capt. Ross Malugani, launch weather officer, Vandenberg Air Force Base 30th Space Wing

Following the prelaunch news conference, a science briefing will be held at 5:30 p.m.

Briefing participants will be:

• Mitch Goldberg, NOAA chief program scientist, Joint Polar Satellite System
• Joe Pica, director, NOAA’s National Weather Service Office of Observations
• James Gleason, NASA senior project scientist, Joint Polar Satellite System
• Jana Luis, division chief, predictive services, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

Media also can ask questions during the briefings via Twitter, using the hashtag #askNASA.

NASA TV Launch Coverage Nov. 10

NASA TV live coverage will begin at 4:15 a.m. Coverage will conclude after spacecraft separation. There is no planned post-launch news conference. A post-launch news release will be issued as soon as the state-of-health of the spacecraft can be verified.

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio,” the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.

To learn more about the JPSS-1 mission, visit:

http://www.jpss.noaa.gov/

and

https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/jpss-1

Join the conversation and follow the JPSS-1 mission on social media by using Twitter and Facebook at:

https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites

and

https://www.facebook.com/NOAANESDIS/

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AIMM Attends GSFC Fall Reception (2017)

AIMM is a proud sponsor of the Maryland Space Business Roundtable. The Maryland Space Business Roundtable (MSBR) is a nonprofit organization for aerospace and technology businesses, universities, and individuals in Maryland as well as the surrounding national capital region that share a mutual interest in promoting a robust space community. The Roundtable provides a common ground for these companies to meet, interact, learn, and act on initiatives for future growth.

Last night, the AIMM team enjoyed the GSFC Fall Reception at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, which is cosponsored by NASA and features a space science presentation at our nation’s premier space museum. NASA scientists, whose work is enabled by the MSBR community, offer their discoveries on our Sun, the solar system, planet Earth, and the universe that surrounds us.  Senior NASA officials attend along with Legislative members and staff.

 

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For more about AIMM please visit: http://www.aimmfed.com

AIMM Participates in Awesome Con

AIMM joined in on the fun at The Science Channel’s inaugural Awesome Con Science Fair. Long celebrated as an event featuring comic books, movies, television, toys and games, the newly added Science Fair highlighted scientific discoveries, featuring where science fiction and science fact meet.

Panelists were on-site to leading a broad range of discussions from whether or not Iron Man could really exist and using comics to teach STEM, to alternative careers at NASA. Innovations and exhibitions in science, space, and robotics were showcased to draw awareness, interest, and advocacy.

 

AIMM participated in the June 4, 2016 panel to discuss NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST): Storytellers. Other panelists included photographers, writes, web developers, and social media experts who tell the story of the NASA Goddard-built telescope, designed to see the earliest stars and galaxies forming after the Big Bang. The JWST will launch in 2018.

The Awesome Con Science Fair presented by Science Channel’s participants included [sponsor] Science Channel, NASA, the Smithsonian, the Department of Energy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, the Society for Science and the Public, and Nerd Nite!

For more information about Awesome Con visit: www.awesome-con.com

 

Rich Porter Attends CBC Annual Legislative Conference

Rich Porter Attends the CBC Annual Conference

AIMM President, Rich Porter recently attended the 45th Annual Legislative Conference where industry leaders, elected officials and citizen activists explore today’s issues from an African-American perspective. This year’s conference addressed mandatory sentencing, My Brothers Keeper and minority education in STEM studies.

The mission of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) is to advance the global black community by developing leaders, informing policy, and educating the public.

The ALC is the leading policy conference on issues impacting African Americans and the global black community. Thought leaders, legislators and concerned citizens engage on economic development, civil and social justice, public health and education issues. More than 9,000 people attend 70 public policy forums, a national town hall, networking sessions, procurement fair, prayer breakfast, the Phoenix Award Dinner and much more.

For more information on the Congressional Black Caucus visit: http://www.cbcfinc.org/annual-legislative-conference/

Image of the Day: Good Night From Space

We just came across this spectacular image posted by NASA this morning and just had to share!

Courtesy of NASA.gov

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Earth’s thin atmosphere stands out against the blackness of space in this photo shared on Aug. 31, 2015, by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly on board the International Space Station. The station’s solar panels can be seen in darkness at the right of the image.

Kelly, in the midst of a year-long stay on the orbital outpost, shared the photo in a tweet: “Day 157. At the end of the day, #sunrise will come again. Good night from @space_station! #YearInSpace.”

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For more visit – www.nasa.gov

VIDEO – Global Hawk Take Off From Wallops Flight Facility

NASA’s remotely piloted Global Hawk 872 departed the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 7 a.m., August 26, for a 24 hour flight to study Tropical Storm Erika, located just east of the Leeward Islands. The aircraft is carrying instruments to measure temperature, moisture, wind speed and direction as part of the NOAA- led mission Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology (SHOUT). The real-time data will go into the National Weather Service forecast models at the National Hurricane Center.

NASA’s Global Hawk, based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, provides a unique vantage point for weather observations because it flies higher and longer than any manned aircraft. It allows data collection from 60,000 feet, an altitude nearly twice as high as manned aircraft, to the ocean surface.

Here’ AIMM’s Jeff Elliott next to the “Hurrican Hunter” Global Hawk 872

Amazing Photos from New Horizons Approach

Only july 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons, captured the world’s closest and most-detailed image of Pluto ever.

NASA released this sneak-peek series of images that shows New Horizons’ view of Pluto during the final week of its almost 10-year, three-billion-mile journey to Pluto.

AIMM’s Jeff Elliott shared, “This is THE first time mankind gets to see Pluto and AIMM is excited to be a part of the distribution process.”