Meeting Information

Virtual Tour of NASA Wallops Flight Facility Operations

August 17, 2022
Virtual

Date: August 17, 2022
Speaker: Michael Hitch, NASA Wallops Flight Facility
Title: Virtual Tour of NASA Wallops Flight Facility Operations
Time: 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (US and Canada); Zoom session starts at 12:00 p.m.

Abstract: Tucked away on Virginia's Eastern Shore, NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility plays an incredibly important role in our understanding of earth and space science. Since its beginnings, Wallops has launched more than 16,000 rockets carrying science experiments, technology, and satellites.

Established in 1945, Wallops Flight Facility is NASA’s premier location for conducting research using aircraft, scientific balloons and sounding rockets-known as “suborbital vehicles”. A partnership with Virginia Space and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) allows for the launch of orbital vehicles.

Biography: Michael Hitch has over 40 years of project/program management experience at both private and public organizations. His work assignments include Bechtel Power Corporation, MCI Telecommunications, Teleconsult Incorporated, and Aspire and Second Century Communications.

Since 2001 he has been at NASA Goddard Space Fight Center (GSFC) at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF). In 2003 he began working at the Policy and Business Relations Office (now the Special Projects Office) with potential new business partners in government and private industry. In that role he managed and cultivated the successful landing of two key projects for GSFC/WFF; the North Island UAS runway and the Taurus II (now Antares) study which resulted in the historic decision by Orbital Sciences Corporation to utilize WFF as a base for launching its International Space Station (ISS) resupply missions. In 2013 he began his current assignment as Special Liaison to the Director of WFF. Mr. Hitch is the lead for the Suborbital Projects and Range Services (SPARS) line of business.

Mike earned his Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1981, and his Master’s degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University in 1990. He has also received individual and group achievement awards throughout his NASA career.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://apsphysics.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vd--uqzsrG9wkQ0Cn9t0ZgJ3FkFsF07DC

Questions regarding the meeting? Please email units@aps.org for assistance.