Virginia Space Grant Consortium
The Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC), established in 1989, is a coalition of the Virginia Community College System, five Virginia colleges and universities, NASA, state educational agencies, and other institutions representing diverse STEM and aerospace education, research, and workforce development interests. VSGC undertakes a wide range of higher education pre-college, research and workforce programs that are statewide, regional and national in scope. The Consortium has worked with over 600 non-member program partners from private and public sectors and provided more than $6 million in scholarship and fellowship funding to students attending community colleges and universities in Virginia. Other programs have placed 6500 students in paid internship programs and provided teacher professional development and STEM student enrichment programs for thousands of students statewide. www.vsgc.odu.edu
Virginia Community College System
The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966 and is comprised of 23 community colleges located on 40 campuses across the Commonwealth. The VCCS serves more than 405,000 students a year in credit and workforce courses. Virginia’s Community Colleges were created to address Virginia’s unmet needs in higher education and workforce training. Key goals of the VCCS are to contribute to the economic and civic vitality of the Commonwealth and increase access to affordable education and training for more individuals so they acquire the knowledge and skills to be successful in an ever-changing global economy. www.vccs.edu.
NASA Langley Research Center
Langley Research Center (LARC) has been instrumental in shaping aerospace history for more than nine decades. Established in 1917 as the first national civil aeronautics laboratory, Langley has become a comprehensive, world-class center for aeronautics, atmospheric sciences, and space technology. In aeronautics, Langley works on technologies that will make commercial flight safer, cleaner and more efficient. Langley researchers are helping to lead the nation into the next phase of space exploration and conducting experiments from the land, sea and air and space to understand atmospheric effects from volcanoes, industrial pollution and changes in the Earth’s temperature. Langley researchers also develop technology for advanced space transportation systems and for small spacecraft and instruments. www.nasa.gov/centers/langley
NASA Wallops Flight Facility
Established in 1945 under NASA’s predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), Wallops is one of the oldest launch sites in the world. Wallops’ support of scientific research and orbital and suborbital payloads places them at the center of NASA’s space and Earth sciences. Built to conduct aeronautical research using rocket-propelled vehicles, Wallops launched its first rocket on July 4, 1945. Since then, Wallops has fulfilled its mission with the launch of more than 16,000 rockets. Over the years, its launch range has grown to include four launch pads, assembly facilities and state-of-the-art instrumentation. In addition, Wallops mobile launch facilities enable scientists and engineers to launch rockets around the world. www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops