2/9: 'State of NASA' Social (multiple centers)

NASA is opening its doors and inviting its social media followers and news media to an in-person 'State of NASA' event on Feb. 9, 2016, at one of the agency's 10 field centers. The event takes guests on a tour of the center and highlights the work of the agency's journey to Mars — testing cutting-edge technologies and making scientific discoveries while studying our changing Earth and the infinite universe as the agency makes progress on the next generation of air travel.

Each center will be connected via a multi-center NASA Television simulcast with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden at Langley Flight Research Center during the event. Bolden will address the progress made and the exciting work ahead on the agency's exploration initiative that secures America's leadership in space.

Participants will get a unique behind the scenes look at the respective center and the diverse work of the agency through tours and presentations with scientists, engineers and managers. The events also will provide guests the opportunity to interact with fellow social media users, space enthusiasts and members of NASA's social media team.

Social media users interested in attending should register for an in-person event at one of 10 locations throughout the country. Registration for the NASA Social closes at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Participants will be selected from online submissions.

We have NASA centers in Alabama, California, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas and Virginia. No two locations are the same. Each center has a different itinerary depending on their location.

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
NASA's center in Silicon Valley will host up to 12 social media followers to experience tours and meet experts speaking about the amazing autonomous technology that Ames is using to enable exploration. Guests will see Ames' robotics research and hear about how the center's expertise has led to collaborations and exchanges with Nissan and Google to facilitate self-driving cars, and Amazon, the FAA and dozens of other public and private partners to research future air traffic management tools that could make small low-altitude drone flights safe and common. Tours will also include a review of Earth science data on the center's 128-screen research hyperwall with stunning visualizations that help scientists and engineers view their data like never before. Guests will meet local Silicon Valley astronaut Steve Smith, a veteran of four space flights.
Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, California
Armstrong Flight Research Center will host up to 40 social media followers to learn about the center's contributions to NASA's missions. Attendees will have a rare opportunity to tour aircraft hangars and support facilities as well as learn about the center's aeronautics research and airborne science initiatives. The program will also feature briefings from experts on how NASA Armstrong supports agency-wide missions in space exploration, technology development and our journey to Mars.
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
NASA Glenn will host up to 20 social media followers for a behind-the-scenes look at the center's work in NASA's mission to send astronauts into deep space. Participants will tour the Space Power Facility (SPF) at Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio where Glenn engineers are currently evaluating a test version of the Orion European Service Module to ensure it can withstand the trip to space. In addition to the largest space simulation chamber in the world, attendees will also see an additional chamber which can simulate the noise of a spacecraft launch similar to the sound of 20 jet engines. The service module is a critical piece of Orion and provides air, water, in-space propulsion and power for the spacecraft. Participants will also tour the Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility, the world's only facility capable of testing full-scale, upper-stage launch vehicles and rocket engines under simulated high-altitude conditions.
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Goddard will host up to 40 social media followers for an all-day event highlighting NASA science, engineering and exploration. Attendees will view cutting-edge science visualizations on a Hyperwall; learn about how new technologies are used for search-and-rescue missions here on Earth; learn how NASA studies our sun with innovative new spacecraft; see how a NASA-JAXA satellite is, for the first time, tracking falling snow; view the ICESat-2 spacecraft as it's being built in Goddard's massive Satellite Integration and Testing Facility, and view the world's largest publicly-known cleanroom where we're building the massive James Webb Space Telescope, which will be the most powerful space telescope ever built.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory will host up to 20 social media followers to learn about the center's contributions to NASA's exploration of the solar system and beyond. This social media event will include briefings from teams representing the Juno mission, which enters orbit around Jupiter on July 4; the Dawn mission, now in its lowest orbit around dwarf planet Ceres; Earth scientists tracking the current El Niño event from space; and the Mars 2020 rover. At this three-hour event, attendees will have the opportunity to interact with mission scientists and engineers, tour the mission control room for NASA's Deep Space Network, and watch Administrator Bolden's 'State of NASA' speech live from the Langley Research Center.
Johnson Space Center, Houston
Johnson Space Center will host up to 20 social media guests to learn about the #YearInSpace mission aboard the International Space Station and the twin studies being conducted during the mission with astronaut Scott Kelly and his brother and former astronaut Mark Kelly while walking through a mockup of the space station. Guests will also visit the historic and current Mission Control Center and climb inside a mockup of NASA's next generation spacecraft, Orion. Finally, NASA Social guests will learn more about the Commercial Crew Program, which will bring human spaceflight launches back to America in 2017.
John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Kennedy will host up to 25 social media followers for a daylong event where they will hear from subject matter experts and learn about the anticipated activities for the center in 2016. The group will discover the inner workings of NASA's Launch Services Program and get the latest on their substantial 2016 manifest. They also will find out the preparations Ground Systems Development and Operations program is making to prepare the center for the first launch of NASA's Orion spacecraft atop a Space Launch System rocket in 2018. The flight will be a monumental step in NASA's journey to Mars. Additionally, NASA's Commercial Crew Program will be featured to offer insight to the unique program and its partnerships with American aerospace industry. Boeing and SpaceX are finalizing the systems that will launch astronauts on American systems to and from the International Space Station in the near future.
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
Langley will host up to 25 social media followers during the 'State of NASA' event. Guests will get behind-the-scenes access to NASA's first field center featuring Langley's new autonomy and robotics center; contributions on NASA's Orion crew vehicle; and Langley's massive hangar, home to 11 aircraft that test aviation technologies and conduct earth science research, where media will watch NASA Administrator Charles Bolden present the State of NASA address live.
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
Marshall will host up to 20 social media followers Feb. 9. Guests will have the opportunity to learn first-hand about the center's contributions to NASA's journey to Mars, especially the Space Launch System rocket which will carry astronauts on the Orion spacecraft into the solar system further and faster than ever before. Participants will also have the chance to interact with rocket scientists working on the program today and tour a new International Space Station exhibit "ISS: Science on Orbit" at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Marshall's official visitor's center.
John C. Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Stennis will host up to 20 social media followers on Feb. 9 for a behind-the-scenes look at America's largest rocket engine test facility. Guests will learn about cutting-edge technology being developed at Stennis and the center's key role in NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). Participants will view the historic B-2 test stand that is being renovated for Space Launch System core stage testing. They will also visit the A-1 test stand where the RS-25 engines are tested. Four RS-25 engines will be used to power the massive core stage of the SLS.