Time flys but not as fast as the lauches that take place at NASA. Fifty years is truly golden for NASA and NASA Television and www.nasa.gov will broadcast a gala
event commemorating the agency’s Golden Anniversary on Wednesday,
September 24, at 8 p.m. EDT.
The invitation-only celebration, organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), is being held at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. The program honors NASA’s 50th Anniversary and celebrates the power of innovation and discovery, and recognizes the agency’s challenges and achievements over the past five decades. Award-winning journalist and WJLA-TV news anchor Leon Harris will serve as master of ceremonies. Event participants include:
- George Muellner, AIAA president
- U.S. Sen. John Glenn, former Mercury and space shuttle astronaut
- Neil Armstrong, former Gemini and Apollo astronaut
- Michael Griffin, NASA administrator
The event also will feature a video presentation hosted by Gemini and Apollo veteran Jim Lovell and a message from the Expedition 17 crew aboard the International Space Station. The televised program will end with a special performance of “Fly Me to the Moon,” directed by music impresario Quincy Jones and the Space Philharmonic, and performed by Frank Sinatra, Jr.
