NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA Dryden electronics technician Jim Mills explains details of the High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultation, or HIPO, mounted on the SOFIA observatory's infrared telescope to NASA education chief and former space shuttle astronaut Leland Melvin during his tour of the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility with center director David McBride. › View Larger Image

Melvin tried his hand at controlling a robotics workstation during a tour of AERO Institute's space shuttle teacher workshop area. › View Larger Image NASA Dryden Flight Research Center's education team presented an overview of the center's education programs to NASA's Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin during meetings Feb. 8 at the AERO Institute in Palmdale, Calif.

Melvin was briefed on use of NASA curricular materials used in the Los Angeles Unified School District's "Beyond the Bell" after-school science and technology programs, the Dryden-managed NASA University Research Centers program, the center's higher education and Digital Learning Network programs, and even had the chance to compare the center's space shuttle cockpit simulator with what he remembered of the real thing when he was an astronaut on shuttle missions.

Melvin also was briefed on education flight projects on several airborne science aircraft and the SOFIA flying observatory during a tour of the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, and met with NASA Dryden and AERO Institute officials during his brief visit.

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Mayor James Ledford of the City of Palmdale and NASA's education chief Leland Melvin got a laugh out of a poster depicting the "Up-Goer Five" caricature of a large multi-stage rocket from the comic website http://29748xkcd.com during the Melvin's visit to the Aero Institute in Palmdale Feb. 8. (NASA /Tom Tschida) › View Larger Image