HOW TO GET INVITED TO A NASA SOCIAL & ROCKET LAUNCH

First, what is a NASA Social? Recently I applied for and was selected to attend a two-day social media event surrounding the launch of a rocket at NASA (National Aeronautical Space Agency) KSC (Kennedy Space Center). I toured the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building). In short, a NASA Social is the opportunity to get a behind the scenes view of what occurs before, during and after a rocket launch.

Obviously, you can see NASA uses a lot of acronyms, and they also use plenty of confusing words. Since I have actually been to KSC before, I knew a lot of the acronyms. I received a number of questions surrounding this event and my participation in it. I did not have the answers to some of the questions, but I decided to investigate and report my findings.

A friend told me that NASA is privately owned and the government sold them a few years ago. Nope! Not True! In fact, NASA is funded and run by the United States federal government. However, the confusion may have come about because NASA does contract with private companies, but that is nothing new. Since the beginning of the agency in 1958, it has worked with private companies to further the advancement of science benefiting our lives here on earth with groundbreaking medical research and inventions. The misinformation may be due in part to NASA doing a better job at public communication.

How to Get Invited to a NASA Social

Eligible NASA Social Media Criteria:

• Actively use multiple social networking platforms and tools to disseminate information to a unique audience.
• Regularly produce new content that features multimedia elements.
• Have the potential to reach a large number of people using digital platforms.
• Reach a unique audience, separate and distinctive from traditional news media and/or NASA audiences.
• Must have an established history of posting content on social media platforms.
• Have previous postings that are highly visible, respected and widely recognized.
• Does NOT feature items such as profanity, spam, adult-oriented material, and/or other inappropriate activities

For our particular event,  the following activities were planned:

• View a launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket
• Tour NASA facilities at Kennedy Space Center
• Speak with representatives from NASA and SpaceX
• View and take photographs of the SpaceX launchpad
• Meet fellow space enthusiasts who are active on social media
• Meet members of SpaceX and NASA’s social media teams

WHO IS SPACEX

SpaceX is an American space transport company, not a government agency, located in California. SpaceX is run by Elon Musk. He has lofty goals for travel including the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has partnered with NASA to bring supplies to the ISS (International Space Station).

After NASA shut down the Space Shuttle program with the last shuttle launch in July of 2011, the United States relied on Russia to transport supplies and astronauts to the International Space Stations. With the advent of the Falcon 9 rocket, the United States now has the capability to transport supplies. In addition to carrying necessary cargo such as food, the Falcon 9 also carries  research experiments into space. 

WAYS THAT NASA BENEFITS US

While NASA conducts experiments to enhance life for astronauts, CASIS (The Center for Advancement in Space) has partnered with NASA to conduct experiments to benefit life on earth. They work with entrepreneurs and research scientists to develop groundbreaking innovations that will benefit our lives.

Some of the interesting research that was transported aboard the Falcon 9 involves experiments to study the effects of microgravity on bones, monitor the effects on muscles, bones and the neurological system while living on the Space Station, and testing of synthetic muscles to use as replacement muscles in the human body. These experiments will help to benefit our lives with medical breakthroughs in the future.

During the event, we were given a tour of the VAB. This awesome building is massive and is one of the largest buildings in the world by volume. It was used to assemble rockets and space shuttles. Currently, it is undergoing a remodel and will be used for building future rockets.

For more information, visit NASA.gov,

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