Sponsorships!

Well, as you well know, all non-profits exist on the generosity of others. Right now, Higher Orbits biggest project is Mission Discovery. I am very excited that we have so many Mission Discovery events scheduled for this summer.

As you may know, one of the very unique things about Mission Discovery is that out of each event/camp (call it whatever you prefer) we will pick the best experiment to be launched into space to the International Space Station! I certainly wish I could've done something like that when I was that age!

www.mission-discovery.info

Obviously you don't have to be a rocket scientist (sorry couldn't resist!) to recognize that launching something into space doesn't happen without cost.

So with that in mind...

Higher Orbits is working to find some sponsorships for our 2014 summer Mission Discovery programs. There are a variety of ways that this can be done and I'd be happy to discuss any and all options with anyone who is interested. Please don't think that any amount of sponsorship is too little from a company. Every dollar helps! Likewise, we are also looking for individual donations that we will pool to fund scholarships for deserving students to attend Mission Discovery at the various locations. Here's a blog that tells you more about how you can make a donation.
http://higherorbits.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-great-umbrella-not-quite-what-you.html

Corporate Sponsor? Here's a list of sponsorship opportunities and the benefits that go with them!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tfmqhhfonybmoed/AABLiZwVs2VnZ0gLXhrl9PMJa

Please consider helping in any way you can... our next generation of Scientists, Engineers, Mathematicians and Leaders are counting on you!

                                                        .....and please spread the word! :)

A Great Umbrella! (Not quite what you think it means...)

I feel fortunate today to announce that Higher Orbits has an umbrella to thank for helping us out...
Now that may sound a little odd to you that I am thankful for an umbrella (especially given that it's not raining!) but let me explain...

There is a wonderful group in California called EEG (a non-profit tax exempt educational foundation that has been in existence for 42 years) that is an "incubator" for similar minded non-profits. Since the task of getting 501c3 status is an arduous one and it takes quite a bit of time, this group helps out those in need in a variety of ways. They've kindly offered guidance on a variety of topics, which are very important but I won't bore you with, but there's something else they do that is much more important...

By being under their umbrella it helps me with donations in the immediate timeframe. Why? Well let me explain. You can make a donation to Higher Orbits TODAY and the check can be written to Higher Orbits. Higher Orbits will happily take that donation and put it to very good use. But since Higher Orbits is still awaiting it's tax-exempt 501c3 status (even though it's a non-profit, the actual IRS process for the tax exemption takes a year or 2!) you might not be able to claim it as a tax "benefit" for 2014 if the status doesn't come through this year. Whenever the status comes through you can retroactively claim it however. (Confused? Sorry!) Now how EEG is helpful.... if you're worried about your donation DEFINITELY being applied to this years taxes (as a company who might be willing to write a big check might be) you can make your check out to EEG but send it to Higher Orbits. They will accept donations on behalf of Higher Orbits and will then give Higher Orbits the money with only a few % taken out for administration costs.  This definitely helps us to be able to go out and solicit even larger donations so that we can provide even more scholarships and programs to deserving students!

So - you want to donate? THANK YOU!
You can write your check to Higher Orbits or EEG (based on what you've read in the paragraph above) and mail it to:
Higher Orbits
Attn: Michelle Ham
32 Upshur Rd
Annapolis, MD 21402

I can promise you that your donation will be used to support some very worthy programs including Mission Discovery (www.mission-discovery.info) for some incredible and deserving students!

A great big huge THANK YOU to EEG for taking Higher Orbits under their umbrella and providing such wonderful support.

P.S. Right now Higher Orbits can only take checks but I'm working on taking credit cards soon and will let you know as soon as we get that sorted out!

Once a Brickie, Always a Brickie

Well for all of you who are not from "The Region" I am sure that you are wondering - what the heck is a Brickie?! Don't worry, I will get into that more in a bit but first I want to tell you about my incredible day at Hobart High School... Perhaps it deserves a bit of background first though....

I was born in Hammond, IN but within the first 6 months of my life my parents moved to Hobart, IN (both in the Chicagoland area).  Hobart is where I spent all of my years until I left to go to Purdue University. So naturally I attended Hobart High School. Worth mentioning, I attended the OLD Hobart High School... why is that worth mentioning? Well let me tell you...

I was excited when the Hobart Superintendent Dr. Peggy Buffington reached out to me and asked me if I would be willing to come by the high school and give a talk. I was excited for 2 reasons... first and foremost I was obviously excited to get to meet some great young minds and to share some thoughts with them. The second reason was because Hobart built a new school that I have heard amazing things about and I was psyched to get to check it out!

My morning started with meeting Dr. Buffington and I have to say I immediately knew that I was going to like her! She is this force of positive energy that just draws you in. Her devotion to Hobart and the students is unmistakable - it's truly an amazing thing! After a quick stop in the school board room to drop off me coat we headed to the theater. Even before we got in the door there I could tell that this new HHS was a far cry from our old HHS. Attention has been paid to every detail and as a result the school looks amazing!

I was fortunate enough to speak to a large group of students for about an hour about space and life and well a bit about me and how I got where I am. Naturally I also told them about Mission Discovery and I REALLY hope to see some of them at Mission Discovery Valparaiso University this summer! They were such an attentive group with some great questions (including 1 question that I think I will write an entire blog about at some point.. just gotta find the time!) and I hope I left them with some thoughts to think about and perhaps a piece or 2 of advice for them to carry with them in life. It was a real treat to get to be there and to interact with some great Brickies!

After the talk, Dr. Buffington was kind enough to take me on a tour of the whole high school.... All I can say is WOW! Hobart High School has so many amazing opportunities for students that certainly weren't available when I was in school there and the facility is sincerely world-class! Clearly a lot of thought and caring went into the design, building and execution of HHS. The programs and facilities are so much more than just a school though... they have a real community feel to them.

I truly look forward to being able to do more work with Hobart High School... so be on the lookout! You never know when I will be back there!

Oh and I bet you are wondering what a Brickie is ;) Well check this out...
http://hobart.schoolwires.com/site/default.aspx?PageID=1887

I am proud to say I am a Brickie!
Once a Brickie, Always a Brickie!

Gravity

The Movie Gravity with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney...

I am sorry folks - I really wanted to like this movie but the short answer of what did I think of the movie is....

It was bad. It was just bad.

As I said in my first tweet about this - I am not sure who liked it less... myself, Ken or the NASA HQ friend of ours who just happened to end up in the same theater at the same time....

Let me preface with a variety of things....

• I will do my best to not give away too many spoilers. (Honestly I am trying not to give any spoilers but I think by virtue of a few of the things I am saying I may sort of do so....)
• I will admit I am probably harder on the movie than the average person...
• If you've seen it and you've enjoyed it I am glad! Truly! Just because I didn't doesn't mean I want you to have had a miserable 2 hour experience....

So how do I make my comments without giving too much away.... or being too Neil Tyson (since someone told me not to go All Neil Tyson on the movie).... Let's be clear - I am NOT smart enough to be Neil Tyson so I would actually be honored to be compared to him!! How do I articulate this... bear with me! 

Let me start off with if you are going to go and see this you absolutely ought to go see it in 3D. Visually it's worth the extra money it will cost to see it that way.

To say there were some technical inconsistencies would be a gross understatement. I get it that they can't get absolutely everything right. (Though that said Apollo 13 did a pretty decent job!) I get that there is some stuff you need to do to enhance the drama. However some of it was just so bad I really couldn't get passed it no matter how hard I tried. Some of the absolutely basic physics was just WRONG! And we won't even get into the Orbital Mechanics... and I am not talking difficult Orbital Mechanics I am talking basics...  Let's put it this way - in regards to that it was SO bad that I actually laughed out loud about it during the movie several times. I won't go into listing all the issues (not sure I could type that much - my hands my fall off) because I will give too much away and I don't want to go into that much detail... let's just say they were numerous and apparent. 

That said they got some very minor details correct which I was impressed with... The PCS display was pretty accurate, some of the other displays were accurate, the vehicles in general were pretty accurate, the space suit on the outside looks was very close and they had the appropriate timeline (OSTPV - Onboard Short Term Plan Viewer - software that is very near and dear to my heart) on the computer. These are just to name a few - yes there were others including using the right nomenclature for some things.

Let me set the stage in the best way I can I think... The first oh I don't know 10 minutes there's a conversation going on between the astronauts in space and the ground (don't worry that fact isn't giving anything away)... it was SO bad an irritating the way they did it that I thought I was going to have to walk out then. (Talking with Ken about it later he apparently was thinking the same thing.)

Yes many of the visuals were stunning but I tell you what - to get that go see the ISS 3D movie or something like that. You'll actually get even more stunning views.

I get that this movie makes people think about space more than they previously might and while at first blush that seems like a fantastic thing.... I am not sure this movie is a good thing for that and I will explain in a second...

Here's where I have to make a comment that may give something away about the movie that you don't want to know.... if that's the case I suggest you stop reading here and pick-up where I say Spoilers Over in big bold letters.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

The reason I am not sure that this movie is a good thing is that it is overwhelmingly a negative movie. I get that it's the story of one woman's journey to get back home but set in the context of space it means that absolutely everything in space (ISS, shuttle, HST etc.) is completely destroyed. Why is NASA embracing the message of negative things happening in space when there are so many positive aspects we are failing to promote? I mean at one point the main character says "I HATE SPACE!" Really? This is the message that we the space loving community want people to go see and embrace - the idea that all our foothold in space can be wiped out quickly and it ends in tragic loss of life? Call me an idealist but that's not how I want to get people talking about space.

Add to that last point the fact that the space shuttle breaks up in orbit and there are lots of pieces of various space vehicles burning up as they come back into the atmosphere and those of us who were part of the space world when Columbia happened have a bit of a hard time with this imagery. It honestly was hard for me to watch at that point - the visuals were just a little too close to something so tragically still a very tender painful memory. 

SPOILERS OVER!!!

Here's the bottom line (as if you didn't already know this) - I just didn't like it. This does NOT mean I think anyone who does is crazy! (So please don't get all offended as if I am attacking you personally by disliking this movie.) I can see how cinematically it could be good entertainment. (I can't tell you how many people I have gotten emails from who really liked it. For you Chivers out there - I don't think John will mind if I tell you that he absolutely loved it.) Cinematically they did a good job with keeping you on the edge of your seat. I will admit there were a few times they had done such a great job of creating drama and suspense that even I was on the edge of my seat hoping they came through (no matter how scientifically illogical the premise was of that given instance) so in that aspect they did a good job. 

What I would like to see is another space movie - this time one that highlights the positives... Maybe it's time for me to start writing that script....

I'm So Excited!

I'm so excited.... and I just can't hide it!!

For all of you who I've now gotten that song stuck in your head, I do apologize, it's just that I've been singing it since I woke up this morning!

I am so excited!

Every year the Naval Institute hold a big conference at the Naval Academy and this year the theme/topic is space!
http://www.usni.org/events/2013-us-naval-history-conference

I feel lucky to get to be here at the Naval Academy to be able to experience this and the fact that Ken has been kind of the "point guy" here at USNA helps get me access to some extra cool stuff!

Even though the Government is shutdown this event is still happening. Sadly the current astronauts (or anyone who technically still works for NASA wether they are a current astronaut or not)  such as Chris Cassidy, Suni Williams and Charlie Bolden will not be able to attend which is a bummer because it would be even more epic to have them here. However, there are still so many amazing folks who will be here! Astronaut speakers include Mike Lopez-Alegria, Frank Culbertson, Bob Crippen and more! While I am super excited to see those guys I must admit I am absolutely beside myself about the fact that I am going to get to meet Jim Lovell and Tom Stafford! Talk about living legends!!!

I promise I will take LOTS of pictures. I will also do my best to do some Live Tweeting from the event (assuming I can get my phone to connect while in Alumni Hall - sometimes service in there is not so good) so feel free to follow me on Twitter if you want. My handle is @spacechelle

It all begins tonight with a special reception at the Superintendent's House followed by a Forrestal Lecture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Forrestal) by Miles O'Brien.

I'm so excited!!!

It's a Small World

It's a Small World After All... It's a Small World After All.. It's a Small World After all... It's a Small Small World..

Sorry - now that I've got that stuck in your head :) What can I say - after having visited Disneyland and the experience I had at the AIAA Space Conference in San Diego I definitely had this in my head...

For those of you who don't know I recently returned from a trip to California - this trip was mostly work but had some fun thrown in too! So why am I singing "It's a Small World" you may ask...

I flew into LA for a few days before heading to work in San Diego. My reason for doing so was that my dear friends Gillian, Kevin & Katelin were in LA for some work. I met Gillian from 29 Studios (http://www.29studios.com) on our Gobi Desert Astronaut Leadership Experience and we became good enough friends that a few months later I visited her in her home of Glasgow, Scotland. While there I met her amazing husband Kevin and exceptional daughter Katelin as well as Pappy (Kev's wonderful Dad.) When I found out they would all be in California at the same time as me, and I knew we had some business we wanted to talk about, I figured I ought to modify my travel plans slightly and make a stopover in LA on my way to San Diego. We enjoyed some fun time together (including a trip to Disneyland to all be big kids together!)

And no it was not all fun we did some work too! We had some great business talks and we are all excited about the work we can do together. I'll tell you what given that Gillian and I went from seeing each other in Mongolia then Glasgow then Los Angeles - it makes me feel like it's a small world after all!

But wait - there's more! :)

Then I headed to San Diego for the AIAA National Space Conference where I was exhibiting for ISSET & Higher Orbits. (Okay to be fair everything only said ISSET because I didn't have anything printed up with Higher Orbits because I had only just gotten the name etc. legally approved and I don't have a logo yet... but I did talk about Higher Orbits!) At this conference I was astounded at just how small the world of space is! Forget 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon - Space is where it's at!

(Don't know what 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon is? Check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Degrees_of_Kevin_Bacon)

At the conference the thought of it's a small world after all ran through my head numerous times...

• I have been living on the East Coast for over a year as has Pam Melroy but we haven't managed to get together yet even though we live within an hour of one another... however I saw her at this conference which was held more than 2,000 miles from where we live!
• I met an incredibly cool guy named Greg who it turns out is great friends with a few of my dearest friends (Stacey & Kevin) in Houston. We'd both heard stories about each other but never met even though we'd lived in Houston at the same time... so we met for the first time in San Diego!
• I met several people from all over the Globe who I've gotten to know Twitter-wise
• I saw not 1, not 2, not 3 but no less than a half a dozen astronauts who I have worked with either as their instructor for a mission or in Mission Control for their Mission (or when they were CAPCOM)
• I met a Purdue SEDS student who is a student of my Purdue Mentor Dr. Steven Collicott (I think I may have to do another whole different blog on that!)
• I met a guy who works in Texas at SpaceX with the brother of one of our favorite mids 
• And literally with almost everyone I met we had a mutual friend or a mutual friend of a friend...

It's A Small World After All.....

I think that's why the space community feels so much like a family. With that said - Let's Make This Family Bigger! Let's keep spreading the good word about space and get others excited!!!

I Introduce To You....

Cue the trumpets..... Or maybe a drumroll... Confetti Cannons perhaps?

Anyway - give me some pomp and circumstance in your mind as you get ready to read this next bit because I am SUPER excited about it....

It's is my great honor to introduce you to a new Non-Profit Organization that will use space to get students of all ages interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math....
I give you.....

Higher Orbits

I had many many many great suggestions from folks about names and many that I liked but I chose Higher Orbits for a wide variety of reasons some of which include the fact that some names that were suggested or I liked were already taken or Trademarked, some of the names ended up being a great acronym but a mouthful to explain (Ken reminded me how much it drives me crazy to have to spell out ISSET all the time), some names appealed to some of the demographic I need to target but not others etc etc. Bottom line is I was lucky to have so many great suggestions from so many great folks so...

THANK YOU! GRACIAS! MERCI! DANKE! SPASIBO! ARRIGATO! MAHAL! XIE XIE!

Thank you all for being so wonderful and helping me with suggestions or taking my surveys to see what names you like or just being a sounding board when I started rambling about my ideas. Thank you so very much. I appreciate it more than words can express.

I would be remiss to not give an extra special Thank You shout-out to a very special gal who does marketing and branding for a living and was so enthusiastic in her help with finalizing the name. A HUGE Thank you to Lisa Witzig from Ideen LLC. I can whole heartedly endorse that if you need some help with marketing branding, naming etc. Lisa absolutely should be your go-to-gal! Check out her webpage at http://www.ideen-llc.com

I still have a lot of work to do.....

• Lots of paperwork to get my official IRS non-profit status (I won't bore you with the details but the basics is there's a general legal part to becoming a non-profit and then there's the IRS side... the IRS side apparently takes ages... but I'm ready to get to work on that!)
• Logo - Luckily I have some amazingly talents friends who have given me some great ideas and now I just have to decide what exactly I want to have represent Higher Orbits for all entirety (no pressure to make the "right" choice or anything!)
• Website! I've secured the domain and put a lame Coming Soon page but will be working on getting that really functional soon! Bookmark www.higherorbits.org to check back there periodically
• Fundraising! I have some amazing ideas of ways to fundraise to provide scholarships to individuals for events like Mission Discovery and I can't wait to get started on those. I know how life changing it was for me when I received a scholarship to go to Space Camp so I can't wait to return that "favor" to some students!
• And much much more but I'll stop rambling for now :)

I will still be doing all the same work with ISSET but now Higher Orbits will become a partner to ISSET and Higher Orbits will have additional things outside of ISSET as well. (Yeah I wasn't busy enough you know how all I do is sit around and watch TV and eat bon bons. LOL!)

For now you can start following Higher Orbits on Twitter if you want @HigherOrbits

And you may have noticed this is a separate blog than my personal blog - this will be a Higher Orbits official blog so perhaps sign-up to follow this blog too :)

And I promise to keep you all posted as things progress..... as you might be able to tell I am REALLY REALLY excited!!! 

Here's to Higher Orbits!!!