Posts Tagged ‘Education Launch’

Photo courtesy of NMSGC

The New Mexico Space Grant Consortium (NMSGC) has announced that the Third Annual Education Launch will be available to view live online on Friday, May 20. This launch and the yearlong education plan to build experiments are sponsored by NASA through the Summer of Innovation Program. Four high school experiments are supported by the New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax revenue, dedicated to supporting spaceport related education. The UP Aerospace SL-5 rocket is scheduled to launch at 7 a.m. MDT, and will be seen live on the Internet at:  www.LaunchNM.com

NMSGC Director Dr. Patricia Hynes is happy to have more webcasting options than ever this year. “We’re expecting over 800 students and their families and members of the public to be on-hand to watch this year’s launch. We are privileged to share it with the world on the Internet” Hynes said. The rocket will loft 27 student experiments into space. This program provides annual access to space for student experiments at the end of the academic year. Predictable access to space for student experiments at the end of the academic year helps place “going to space” into the workday of the teacher in the classroom.

The student launch program was created by the NMSGC to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs for area students. Experiments include 35 sensors including electromagnetic field, carbon dioxide detectors, radiation, acceleration, temperature, pressure and electricity sensors. Descriptions of the student experiments are available online at www.launchnm.com

The New Mexico Space Grant Consortium is a member of the congressionally funded National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program that is administered by NASA and sponsored by New Mexico State University. The program promotes and inspires lifelong learning in areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics as it pertains to space-related activities. The consortium supports a wide range of projects and scholarship opportunities, including the Student Launch Program.

Release courtesy of New Mexico Space Grant Consortium

The New Mexico Space Grant Consortium (NMSGC) is planning to webcast the Second Annual Education Launch live from Spaceport America on Tuesday, May 4. The UP Aerospace SL-4 rocket is scheduled to launch at 6 a.m. MDT, and will be seen live on the Internet at the NMSGC website (www.launchnm.com/the_launch.php) via Ustream, a leading live interactive broadcast platform.

NMSGC is hosting the Second Annual Education Launch from Spaceport America. This program provides New Mexico students the opportunity to design and launch scientific experiments into space. Dr. Pat Hynes, Director of the NMSGC, said, “By making the launch available via webcast, we hope to share our experiences and inspire the imaginations of young scientists all over the world. We want to build awareness of the applied learning and workforce development that is going on right now in New Mexico.”

The New Mexico Space Grant Consortium is a member of the congressionally funded National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program that is administered by NASA and sponsored by New Mexico State University. The program promotes and inspires lifelong learning in areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics as it pertains to space-related activities. The consortium supports a wide range of projects and scholarship opportunities, including the Student Launch Program. New Mexico students build multi-sensor electronic experiments that use the environment of sub-orbital space to further their hands-on scientific and engineering experience.

For additional information, visit www.spacegrant.nmsu.edu or contact Aaron Perez, Program Coordinator at aaperez@nmsu.edu or call 575-646-6414

Release courtesy of New Mexico Space Grant Consortium

As part of New Mexico Space Grant Consortium’s mission to promote space programs and education to New Mexico students and educators, the second annual Education Launch will take place at 6 a.m. Tuesday, May 4 from Spaceport America. Along with carrying experiments designed and created by New Mexico students into space, the SL-4 launch vehicle will also be dedicated to the memory of a Farmington science and technology teacher who died of breast cancer in 2005.

New Mexico Space Grant Consortium Director Dr. Patricia Hynes said, “The promise of a new commercial space industry has created an increased interest in technology and science programs in New Mexico classrooms. The Education Launch gives our students the ability to launch their experiments into space, which is something that inspires visionary educators like Debbie Prell.”

Debbie Prell was a physics teacher at Farmington High School when she became involved with the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium’s Education Launch program. She worked with her students to build high-powered model rockets and electronic payloads for many years. She later taught physics at San Juan College in Farmington and continued to work with the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium to offer scholarships to her students, and worked on weekend science programs for middle- and high-school students. Debbie died of breast cancer in 2005, and her family, friends and students established the Deborah Ann Prell Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Endowment to continue her work.

“The New Mexico Space Grant Consortium is proud to have had Debbie Prell as a partner, and we are continuing her work through her endowment,” said Dr. Patricia Hynes. “Working with UP Aerospace, which is providing the SL-4 launch vehicle for this launch, we are dedicating this launch to Debbie’s memory with a pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness painted on the rocket.” In addition, many of the launch participants will wear special pink shirts that read, “Rocket Scientists are Tough Enough to Wear Pink.”

The Education Launch is open to the public by reservation via coach transportation for $20 per person. Registrants can register online to reserve their space and make payment. No private vehicles are allowed to the launch site.

The New Mexico Space Grant Consortium is a member of the congressionally funded National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program that is administered by NASA and sponsored by New Mexico State University. The program promotes and inspires lifelong learning in areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics as it pertains to space-related activities. The consortium supports a wide range of projects and scholarship opportunities, including the Student Launch Program. New Mexico students build multi-sensor electronic experiments that use the environment of sub-orbital space to further their hands-on scientific and engineering experience.

For additional information, visit spacegrant.nmsu.edu or contact Aaron Perez, Program Coordinator at aaperez@nmsu.edu or call 575-646-6414.

Spaceport America announced that the first annual Education Launch was successful in spite of not reaching the maximum altitude.  The student-designed scientific experiments were carried aloft on a UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket.  Students from New Mexico State University, Dona Ana Community College and area high schools designed and built the experiments. The New Mexico Space Grant Consortium pitched in $85,000 to pay for the students’ payload space, while the New Mexico Spaceport Authority paid for the launch services component.

An on-line video of the launch is available on the Spaceport America website and related news stories are available in the Las Cruces Sun-News Spaceport News on-line edition.