Talk About the Commercial Space Program with Carissa Christensen

The aerospace industry is no longer defined by government space agencies. We live in a time when commercial firms have found ways to profit from the space environment. Today's space businesses include satellite television delivered to millions of subscribers, images of the whole Earth taken by tiny remote sensing cubesats, suborbital vehicles that will carry tourists, and companies like SpaceX delivering supplies (and eventually astronauts) to the International Space Station, as well as many others. Space entrepreneurship and investment have undergone unprecedented growth in recent years, and an exhilarating future awaits.

Carissa Bryce Christensen is a founder and Managing Partner of The Tauri Group, an analytic consulting firm based in Alexandria, Virginia. Ms. Christensen is a recognized expert in commercial space and for two decades has engaged the leading edge of the space industry with innovative analysis of space systems, industry economics, advanced technologies, unique regulatory requirements, and underlying demand.

Sat, October 15, 2016. 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM. Go here for tickets.

One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure

Join Big Bird and Elmo as they explore the night sky with Hu Hu Zhu, a Muppet from "Zhima Jie," the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street. Together they take an imaginary trip from Sesame Street to the moon, where they discover how different it is from Earth. They also journey to Zhima Jie to learn about the similarities in our view of the sky.

Sun, October 16, 2016. 1:40 PM – 2:05 PM. Go here for tickets.

The Zulu Patrol: Under The Weather

From the far reaches of outer space, from the bright orange planet Zula, comes the Zula Patrol! Based on the #1-rated NBC Saturday Morning TV series "The Zula Patrol," The Zula Patrol: Under the Weather is one of the top-performing digital dome shows of its genre.

The story: the stalwart heroes of the Zula Patrol are on an expedition collecting samples of weather for scientist Multo's research -- using their loyal pet Gorga's ability to collect and bottle all kinds of weather. But when the Zula gang inadvertently hurts Gorga's feelings, he decides to leave Zula and find another planet to live on. Interplanetary villain Dark Truder then tricks Gorga into stealing the weather from other planets - part of his latest nefarious scheme to rule the Universe. The ZPers find out and go after him - in the process learning all about weather, both terrestrial and interplanetary.

Under the Weather is designed for children ages 4-9 and their families. Like the TV series (also airing on qubo, Telemundo, ION and PBS nationwide), it supports many national and state science education standards.

Sun, October 16, 2016. 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM. Go here for tickets.