Throughout the three-day celebration from May 18 to May 20, 2018, The Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace) continued its commitment to supporting our local community and our ongoing partnership with the U.S. Air Force by participating in the 59th Annual Armed Forces Day Celebration to honor the nation's military in Torrance, CA.
The legacy of the Armed Forces Day celebration began in 1960 under the leadership of then Torrance Mayor Albert Isen to “increase public respect and understanding for military service and promote civic-military relationships.” The celebration is now an established Southern California tradition, highlighted by several key events.
Armed Forces Day Key Events
On Saturday, May 19th, 43 runners from Aerospace including retirees, family and friends, ran the Armed Forces Day 5K For Freedom, a tribute to Louis Zamperini; track star, Olympian, military hero and Torrance’s native son. Dubbed “the A-Team,” the Aerospace running team included President and CEO, Steve Isakowitz, his daughter, and Kevin Bell, Vice-President of Space Program Operations. The day was topped off by two free concerts by the soldier musicians of the 300th Army Band, a unit of the U.S. Army Reserve.
Each year, the City of Torrance honors one branch of the military and invites a high-ranking member to serve as the Grand Marshal at the annual parade. This year, the United States Marine Corps was the honoree so on Saturday, May 19th, the 59th Annual Parade Forces Day Parade was led by Grand Marshal Major General Eric M. Smith, Commanding General 1st Marine Division. This parade has the distinction of being the United States’ longest standing military parade sponsored by a city.
Aerospace Booth Focuses on STEM
The weekend long celebration also featured booths and displays of military aircraft, vehicles and support equipment represented by every branch of the Armed Forces. Aerospace hosted a booth with activities for kids that featured our commitment to STEM education. Designed to demonstrate Newton’s 3rd law of motion (for every action there is an equal and opposite re-action) kids got the opportunity to be a “human rocket.” They sat on a chair and pushed off a post to set them in motion on a track. Their time to traverse the track was entered into a computer program that calculated the force they exerted. The program created a custom souvenir of a printout with their name, photo, and thrust compared to the thrust of a Delta IV Heavy rocket.
Jon Binkley, Systems Director for STARS, Aerospace’s mission control center for launch operations was one of the employees who volunteered at the human rocket exhibit. “Relating a scientific concept to a physical activity is an excellent way to reinforce understanding. As a bonus, the kids got a cool souvenir,” he said.
Augmented Reality CubeSat and Hive Cards
Another cool activity for kids was Aerospace’s augmented reality (AR) cards, designed to literally put AR in kids’ hands. These cards were printed with a code that when scanned by a smartphone app, created movable 3D representations on the phone of some of the innovative work we do at Aerospace such as the Galaxy CubeSat, a cutting-edge CubeSat capable of performing missions in higher orbits and the concept of HIVE which are adaptable small satellites.
In recognition of our service men and women, Aerospace and our employee volunteers are proud to have participated in this great community event to support our Armed Forces and inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists, along with continuing our legacy of corporate social responsibility initiatives.