Celebrating a Remarkable Week with NASA Glenn

NASA Glenn Research Center, Northeast Ohio

Last week marked an extraordinary period of activity and achievement in Northeast Ohio for NASA Glenn and partners. The region buzzed with energy upon a leadership visit from NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. Members of the community joined in for the STEM aviation event, and a significant milestone was celebrated with the ribbon cutting of the first mission-centered building in three decades. Additionally, the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) hosted a remarkable EWTS event, partnered with COSI for a NASA learning lunch box distribution, and welcomed more than 30 elected officials’ staff members. NASA expressed its gratitude to all of you who contribute to the thriving ecosystem propelling Ohio forward. Below are some exciting highlights of this memorable week and some positive recent news stories that captured the essence of these remarkable events and others.

New facility at Cleveland’s NASA Glenn Research Center aims to advance communications technology

On August 30, 2023, local representatives and NASA officials gathered in Cleveland for a ribbon cutting ceremony at NASA Glenn’s new Aerospace Communications Facility. Inside the new building, researchers and scientists will develop advanced communications methods for use not only on Earth, but in space exploration, including in the Artemis mission.

The 54,000 square foot building houses 25 labs, designed for researchers and scientists to come together to work on optical communications, quantum communications, and cognitive communications. The goal is to make communications faster and increase bandwidth and throughput, according to NASA Glenn Center Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon.

“If we’re going to have people on the other side of the moon, they’ve got to be able to talk to planet Earth,” Dr. Kenyon said. “And they’re going to be getting gobs of data that they’ve got to get back to planet Earth so we can see it, we can understand it, we can learn from it, and we can use it to make our Earth better and our mission stronger.”

NASA officials, including Bryan Smith, director of facilities, test, and manufacturing at NASA Glenn, said what is developed, built, and tested in these laboratories will have a direct impact on the Artemis mission.

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