Three Virginia university satellites were deployed into nearly simultaneous orbit from the International Space Station via the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer at 10:50 a.m. EDT this morning. The Virginia CubeSat Constellation mission is a collaborative project of the Â鶹´å and four of its member universities: Old Dominion University (ODU), Virginia Tech (VT), University of Virginia (UVA), and Hampton University (HU). Read the press release Livestream video (above) courtesy of UVA. Photograph courtesy of

NASA invites you to participate in a live event for college students discussing The Future of Space. This is an insightful discussion with NASA leadership including Administrator Jim Bridenstine to prepare you as we go Forward to the Moon…to stay. As the next generation of explorers, we need you to make that possible! Mark your calendar for April 29 at 2 p.m. EST time and come find your place in space!

Students will be able to ask questions during a live Earth-to-space call with NASA astronauts Ìý²¹²Ô»åÌý, currently serving as part of the Expedition 59 crew aboard the International Space Station.

The event, intended to inspire the next generation of Â鶹´å explorers skilled in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s . It also will stream live on Ìý²¹²Ô»åÌý. Viewers can submit questions during the event using the hashtag #askNASA.

More information can be found on the NASA

For watch party information at the University of Virginia contact cgoyne@virginia.edu (UVA).

A small viewing party will be held at the ODU main campus in ESB (Engineering Systems Building) Rm. 2111 (Space Systems Lab). Contact »å±è´Ç±è±ð²õ³¦³Ü°ª´Ç»å³Ü.±ð»å³ÜÌý (ODU) for more information.

The Antares NG-11 rocket launched successfully Wednesday from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Va. sending the Cygnus cargo spacecraft on its way to the International Space Station. Cygnus is carrying three Virginia CubeSat Constellation satellites to the ISS for subsequent deployment into orbit by onboard astronauts.  The mission is managed by the Â鶹´å in collaboration with Old Dominion University, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Hampton University. UVA, ODU and Virginia Tech each developed one of the satellites and Hampton University developed a data analysis tool for the mission.

The post-launch press release can be found

Photographs from the event can be found on our

Official NASA photographs of the launch can be found

More information on the Virginia CubeSat Constellation project can be found on the

A giant leap towards space for Virginia university students took place on February 26 when students from three Virginia universities delivered their small satellites to NanoRacks in Houston to be integrated into the Company’s commercially developed CubeSat deployer (NRCSD) and then launched on Northrop Grumman’s Antares to the International Space Station. Read more in the attached

Read more about the mission

Caption left to right: Several members of the Virginia CubeSat Constellation team from UVA, ODU and Virginia Tech in their mission shirts at Nanoracks to integrate their satellites into the commercially-developed deployer.

Applications for BLAST (Building Leaders for Advancing Science and Technology) are now open.

BLAST will offer dynamic three-day residential summer experiences on the campuses of Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech and University of Virginia in the summer of 2019. Through innovative hands-on sessions taught by faculty members and staff, students will explore the fun and excitement of Â鶹´å while residing in a college dorm. BLAST is offered FREE of charge to students, however, transportation to and from the universities is the responsibility of each family. Students who have previously participated in BLAST are not eligible.

Session dates:

Session 1: Virginia Tech University,  June 16-19, 2019

Session 2: Old Dominion University,  June 23-26, 2019

Session 3: Virginia Tech University,  July 7-10, 2019

Session 4: University of Virginia,  July 28-31, 2019

Current Virginia 8^th and 9^th grade students with at least a C+ average and a desire to explore Â鶹´å opportunities are encouraged to apply.

Visit the BLAST website