Soon I Will Be Returning To Mission Control For My Fourth Co-Op Tour At NASA Johnson Space Center. I

Think you are bombing an interview? Ways to turn things around, gain control and get hired!

Help a fellow NASA Intern send a satellite into space!

Giveaway and Satellite Crowd Funder!

Giveaway/raffle, WIN a FREE telescope! We will select one winner and give away a Celestron 21035 70mm Travel Scope: And help support our effort launch a satellite!

To enter the UGA Small Satellite Research Lab’s giveaway all you have to do is:

Reblog this post (so we can get your name)

Liking the post will enter you a second time!

Following the small sat lab on tumblr will enter you a third time!

Following the small sat lab on twitter will enter your a fourth time (just tweet your us tumblr user name at us and tell us how cool you think space exploration is)!

Help Our Crowdfunded to build a spacecraft! Help us build a spacecraft!

We’re Crowdfunding a satellite! Donate at SmallSat.uga.edu/donate!

We’ll be sending a Satellite to the international Space Station in 2018! We just need help building the ground station!

The Donation Rewards:

If you have donated larger amount you will also get all the benefits of the lesser amounts! Be sure when you visit smallsat.uga.edu/donate that you include your information so that we can get in contact with you!

$5 - You will entered in the telescope raffle 2 more times and will receive a signed thank you card in the mail from the lab!

$10 - You will receive a signed certificate of space exploration from the UGA Small Satellite Research Laboratory

$25 - You will receive a mission patch of your choosing (our NASA patch has yet to be designed but the MOCI patch is below)

$50 - You will receive both mission patches!

$100 - We will give you a UGA Small Satellite Laboratory tee-shirt! Special made for supporters of our campaign!

$250 - We will tweet at you from space! once a month! (or you can control the message that you send!)

$500 - You will receive a plaque commemorating your participation in the development of our spacecraft!

$1000 - We will engrave your name on the side of our satellite!

Remember, you get ALL of the benefits of lower donations if you donate a higher one!

Please Help Us Out! We are partnered with NASA and will be sending a satellite to the International Space Station in 2018, but we do not have the money to build a ground station yet!

We have 2 3U cube satellites! The image below is the patch for our Mapping and Ocean Color Imager (MOCI). We are also building the SPectroscopic Observatory of Coastal regions (SPOC), is this is the satellite that will be launched to the International Space Station!

Donate At: SmallSat.uga.edu/donate!

The Crowdfunded and raffle end on July 31, 2016, after that it will take us 20-30 days to send out all the rewards! Donate at smallsat.uga.edu/donate! Feel free to message us or ask us any space questions you may have!

Donate At: SmallSat.uga.edu/donate!

One of the renderings of our satellite:

NASA Co-Op Week 4: Meeting Martians

Stars from the Martian movie visited Johnson Space Center including Sebastian Stan (who plays an astronaut and was also the Winter Solider in an Avengers Captain America Movie) and Mackenzie Davis (who plays a flight operator in mission control that discovers Mark Watney is alive). Ellen Ochoa the center head hosted a Q&A so Sebastian and Mackenzie could ask astronaut Mike Hopper, a real Mission Control Operator, head of science, and head of engineering Kirk Shireman questions and visa versa. The Martian actors challenged the NASA employees wit asking how they would survive on Mars. Sebastian, who plays an astronaut that has a crush on a fellow space explorer, asked if there was ever crushes on the international space station!  I shared with Mackenzie that my role as a Mission Control Co-Op is similar to her character's role in the movie. KHOU a Houston local news station interviewed me about the clash of science at NASA and science fiction in Hollywood.

Here is the full Q&A with Sebastian Stan & Mackenzie Davis from The Martian  

Scott Kelly celebrated halfway to a year in space! This year long mission reveals data key to ensuring a longer duration flight to Mars and beyond can be done safely. Data that has been collected includes bone density, muscle mass, eyesight, key organ functions, and effects of radiation. Kelly Skyped down to ground to celebrate with Johnson Space Center.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED Learn about the real martians and NASA's Journey to Mars See how already long duration space flight has effected Scott Kelly Tune into a video series by Time Magazine following the Year Long Mission Subscribe to NASA on YouTube for mission and spacecraft updates Hear producer, astronauts, NASA folk and Author Andy Weir talk about the Martian at Comic-Con Watch The Martian movie coming out October 1st Read The Martian by Andy Weir Intern with NASA | Launch your Aerospace Career | Get Excited about STEM Work for NASA

Start Studying For Finals NOW

The semester has hardly started and you think it's already a good idea to start studying for finals?

I think its a good idea to avoid the panic looming at the end of the semester. I don't need a crystal ball to predict the posts on Facetumblinstatwitter - students stressing about what grade they need on the final to pass their class rather than actually studying. In attempt to snuff this distress I have a few proven habits if used throughout the whole semester will make finals week more zen.

1) Office Hours

As intimidating as the master behind your grade may seem the value of visiting your professor during office hours well outweighs the fear. Sometime not even the internet has the answer to your problems. After exhausting the knowledge of your friends, teaching assistant, and solutions manual studying can feel hopeless. Professors can often detect when your thinking is heading in the right direction and how to help you out if you are completely lost. Remember that they want you to succeed as long as you are willing to put in the effort.You can get the most out of office hours by trying the problem first, and coming up with question beyond "I don't get it". It is obvious when you are putting forth your best verses just fishing for an answer.

2) Optional Homework Is Mandatory Homework

Don't be fooled by a professor's modern teaching ideologies of "graded homework is a waste of time". Even if the professor assigns optional practice problems for your success in the class "optional" in professor speak means"mandatory". Why not become as comfortable with the material as possible? Understanding concepts a little at a time is much more manageable then cramming at the end of the semester.

3) Allocate Study time

Studying for courses between classes and attending your weekly study group may seem like enough time was dedicated. After recollecting the number of times you checked twitter you realize not a lot of studying went on. Printing out a copy of your class schedule and blocking out time strictly for studying will help you visualize how much time is needed. Two hours of study time should be dedicated for every credit you have per week. As a full time student of 12 hours that would be 24 hours of studying a week. As an engineering student with a 12 hour course load you square it and get 144 hours of studying (just kidding). If focusing for longer than the duration of a Spongebob episode is difficult for you consider using the 50/10 study rule. Study for a solid 50 minutes and then take a 10 minute break (not the other way around).

4) Take Useful notes

While attending lectures (and not sleeping in) be mindful of what you jot down. Will you be able to decipher your chicken scratch by finals week? Reconsider what will be useful to write down as a homework reference and what to underline for review during finals. Take advantage of presentations and notes professors posts online so you can record only what's most important to you. As the only person in your study group with legible notes you have rights to charge a Chipotle burrito tax every time they want to copy them.

What r u majoring in

As a NASA intern most people assume that I am an aerospace engineering major but I am actually a computer science and electrical engineering double major. I wanted to build the broadest knowledge base possible. I know interns here that are psychology, graphic design, and fashion design related majors. NASA isn’t just for STEM majors. :)

NASA Co-Op Week 6: Sayonara Little Spacecraft

Mission control got so quiet you could hear the flight controllers sweat. Wait, wasn't the HTV supposed to be released?

Weeks ago HTV5, a Japanese cargo spacecraft, arrived at the International Space Station delivering fresh foods, experiments and other supplies. HTV5 was lovingly named Kounotori by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) meaning white stork. The arrival of these cargo ships are essential to ensure scientific exploration can continue on the Space Station. After the cargo ship is unloaded and reloaded with garbage. If you ever wondered how astronauts take out the trash...

Astronauts carefully fill up the empty cargo ship with garbage calling down to ground to double triple check if they can throw things out. At times it takes three astronauts strapping the trash bags to the inner walls of the cargo ship to finish the job. Why bother doing that, it is just trash?  By carefully calculating its trajectory, center of gravity and controlling its course the cargo ship plummets through Earth's atmosphere and burns up before hitting the surface. If the center of gravity was not constant the cargo ship we would lose control of the cargo ships trajectory. The cargo ship is released from the Space Station. Up until now the Canadarm2 has a hold of the cargo ship but then releases its grasp. Now you see the importance of HTV5's release, we don't want anyone getting hit by astronaut trash.

Flash forward to HTV5's release day I am sitting console with ISE (Integration Systems Engineer) console, the console that is in charge of visiting vehicles. Timing of the HTV5 release is key - it needs to occur when we have full communications, quickly as steps to release need to execute one after another, and ideally when the Space Station is illuminated by the sun for our monitoring. The countdown for the release began. The flight director focused our thoughts, "stop unnecessary chatter" the release sequence was about to begin. Flight controllers called "ADCO Go", "PLUTO Go", "ISE Go" and so on. Release protocol began but the Canadarm2 did not budge and the window for release was quickly closing.

"ROBO, you have 20 minutes to tell me what happened." instructed the flight director. In mission control there is no time to freeze up when an issue occurs but time to get to work and solve the problem. ROBO is in charge of the Canadarm2 operations. After determining a new release window, re-configuring Canadarm2 the HTV5 was successfully released! JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui worked controls on-board the international space station. Later on Twitter Kimiya remarked, "Sayonara Kounotori- kun. You are so beautiful I really miss you...".

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Watch these silly astronauts float, eat and exercise on the Space Station.

Achievements this week at NASA.

Video from the HTV5 release.

Astronaut Kimiya speaks with his hometown about life on the Space Station.

I was in mission control when the discovery of water on Mars was announced! See what the NASA scientists have to say about Martian waters.

Start your career with NASA and tune into a Virtual Career Fair and hear about internship, fellowships and scholarships October 8th 12pm-3:30pmCT

Photos by NASA

NASA is very much alive.

Intern Orientation Summer 2015

How easy would it be for someone to get an internship at NASA, or what would be some typical requirements? I'm only a high school student in engineering and want to know what paths would be really... appreciated I guess? Thx, and love your blog!

Are there any NASA internship requirements...Your typical semester long internship requirements (for a summer, spring or fall opportunity) include a GPA of at least 3.0 and simply a passion for NASA! You don't need to necessarily study in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) disciplines. Some current interns are graphic designers, educators or business majors. NASA accepts high school students to participate in their program too. My first NASA experience was at Glenn Research Center the summer after my senior year. NASA does like to hear about any hands on work you have done, how you have been a leader and future aspirations. You can apply for a semester long internship here: https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/students/login/The NASA Pathways Internship (this program is more commonly known as a Co-Op) has a few different requirements and the program is different itself. Unlike an internship a Co-Op makes a many semester long commitment to you. For example I flip-flop between working at NASA and studying at school. I will work at NASA five times before graduating. If you complete this program successfully you have the opportunity to apply for full time jobs at NASA. The program requirements include being a current student at an ABET accredited university and participating in an accepted major (details on that in the Co-Op application sites) like engineering or business, having at least a 2.9 GPA, and being able to work at NASA three times before your graduate. The current Pathways Internship (Co-Op) openings are here: http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/opportunities.htmYou apply for the Co-Op by making a resume (mine was just bellow 20,000 characters) on USAJobs.gov. Opportunities open up as the year rolls along for fall and spring opportunities. Thanks for the question!

A dozen NASA Interns from Johnson Space Center are road tripping to Kennedy Space Center to tour and watch the launch tomorrow October 30th. The United Launch Alliance (ULA) are launching a GPS into semi-synchronous circular orbit about 11,000 nautical miles over Earth's surface. This GPS will help military personnel and civilians navigate providing data. WATCH THE LAUNCH here October 30th 12:17pm EDT: http://www.ulalaunch.com/nasa.aspx Mission Overview: http://www.ulalaunch.com/uploads/docs/Mission_Booklets/AV/av_gpsiif11_mob.pdf More About Atlas V: http://www.ulalaunch.com/atlas-v-to-launch-gps-iif11.aspx Rocket photo by ULA