Report from Headquarters
First Festival of Science a Success
In January, the Space Foundation Discovery Institute, located on the campus of the Jack Swigert Aerospace Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., hosted its first free Festival of Science. The after-school event featured hands-on science exhibits and two presentations by former astronaut Wendy B. Lawrence. Some Swigert Academy students had heard Lawrence’s lecture earlier in the…
Richard Truly: Space is Worth the Risk
It was a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon, but the appeal of meeting a former astronaut drew a crowd away from the beautiful weather and into a softly lit gallery at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Surrounded by an exhibit of space art, more than 100 people settled into folding chairs in the gallery to…
Certified Space Technology Saves Manatees
An invention that originally protected astronauts, spacecraft, and heat-sensitive equipment from the extreme temperatures in space is now being used to save an endangered sea mammal from excess cold. AFMInc is donating Heatsheets® Silver Lining™ Blankets to the Save the Manatee Club in Maitland, Fla., to help in manatee rescues and to use when private and government…
Historic Words ‘Hello Twitterverse!”
Social media became truly universal this year when on Jan. 22 flight engineer T.J. Creamer, of NASA Expedition 22 on the International Space Station, posted the first tweet from somewhere other than Earth. In his first tweet Creamer wrote: “Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live…
2009 is Transformational Year
The Space Foundation saw a number of triumphs and accomplishments during the past year that moved the organization even further as the leading advocate for space. National Space Symposium Most Successful Ever With more than 8,000 attendees, including space and defense professionals, educators, students, exhibitors, speakers, and sponsors, the 25th National Space Symposium was the…
Space Foundation Rolls Out PreK-2 Program
The Space Foundation is expanding its nationally known Space Across the Curriculum educator professional development courses by adding a week of classes specifically for teachers of PreK-2nd grade students. Beginning in the summer of 2010, the new course will join the Space Foundation’s other six classes for grade PreK-high school teachers. Piloted Dec. 3-4 with Charles County Public Schools in Charles County, Md., the…
Maryland Teachers, Students See S.T.A.R.S.
The Space Foundation conducted a team-teaching in-service rocketry workshop for 10 Charles County (Md.) Public School 5th grade science teachers on Dec. 7 that provided ideas and lessons the teachers could take directly back to their classrooms. Space Foundation Aerospace Education Specialists Bobby Gagnon and Melissa Peterson used standards-based activities to show the teachers how to integrate rocketry into…
Former Astronaut/NASA Administrator to Lecture
In December, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center opened an exhibition of space art: NASA | ART: 50 Years of Exploration. Scheduled to run through March 7, and organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in cooperation with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, the…
Deadline Approaching for Shepard Award Nominations
The deadline is approaching to nominate an educator to receive the 2010 Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award. Given by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Space Foundation, the award will be presented on April 12 during the Opening Ceremony of the 26th National Space Symposium at…
Talent, Inspiration, and Money Drive Space
Last June, Space Foundation partner Toffler Associates held a meeting in conjunction with the Space Foundation’s Space Business Forum: New York where public and private sector leaders discussed the future of the space industry. Toffler Associates combined input from this group with its own observations, research, and experience, plus data from The Space Report: The…