NASA and Industry Join Forces for Virginia Aerospace Day

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Feb 06, 2012, 03:43 ET

RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Aerospace is a high-tech engine propelling Virginia's economy and creating high-paying jobs.

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NASA leaders from Langley Research Center in Hampton and Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore will join aerospace industry representatives statewide to bring this message to Virginia General Assembly members on AeroSpace Days 2012, Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 8-9, in Richmond.

Concluding the two-day event, media are invited to a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, in the General Assembly 4 West Conference Room.

Events earlier that day include:

An education showcase will present student programs and how they are contributing to the Commonwealth's future aerospace workforce. The showcase, from 7 to 8:30 a.m. in Senate Room 3, Capitol Building, is co-sponsored by the chairs of the House and Senate Education Committees.

Following the showcase, Astronaut Anna Fisher will speak with Senate and House pages. Dr. Fisher flew as a mission specialist on STS-51A that launched November 8, 1984. With the completion of her flight, Dr. Fisher logged a total of 192 hours in space and was the first mother ever to fly in space.

Over 300 aerospace firms in the Commonwealth contribute $7.6 billion to the Virginia economy and create more than 28,000 jobs with an average annual salary of nearly $100,000. NASA's two Virginia facilities bring in $1.2 billion and support nearly 11,000 jobs. Virginia's newest aerospace asset, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), is one of only four commercial spaceports licensed by the FAA to send rockets into orbit.

For more information on NASA's Langley Research Center, visit

www.nasa.gov/langley

For more information on NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, visit

www.nasa.gov/wallops

For more information on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, visit

http://www.marsspaceport.com

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SOURCE NASA