October 2018 News
Satellite Designed by Indiana Academy Students Set to Launch Aboard a NASA Rocket
Friday, October 19, 2018
Susie Cunningham, an Academy computer science instructor, along with a class of her students have been collaborating with a company called Near Space Launch (www.nearspacelaunch.com) on a “ThinSat” satellite project. Near Space Launch donated several of the ThinSat kits to the Academy. The satellite designed by the Academy students is only one of a few selected to have their ThinSat launch into orbit. The NG-10 mission that includes their ThinSat is scheduled to launch on November 15, 2018 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia aboard a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket on a resupply mission to the International Space Station. Update: The launch date for the ThinSat has been moved to NG-11 in the spring of 2019.
Susie and her students have been designing, building, testing, and operating the ThinSat kits since last year. Phase 1 of the ThinSat kit included components that could be used to learn about electronics and sensors, and perform small balloon flight experiments. The Phase 2 kit included an Engineering Unit of the ThinSat as a practice unit for the students to design and test their payloads. Their units, or exact replicas of them, flew on several high altitude balloon launches this past summer to perform an end-to-end test of the system. The Phase 3 Flight Units were built and integrated by Near Space Launch, using the design specifications or custom payloads delivered to them by the Academy.
Once the Academy’s ThinSat is launched and deployed into orbit from the Antares rocket, Near Space Launch will begin live streaming data over their servers, which can then be accessed by students at the Academy. They will be able to see the data from their satellite, along with data from every other school, streaming over the internet in real time. This will then allow them to perform data analysis and understanding of what is happening in orbit.
The Indiana Academy’s logo and signatures of the students involved with the project are included on the ThinSat that is set to launch aboard the NASA rocket. The launch date is subject to change, and this story will be updated if it does.
Ball State’s Teachers College Centennial Celebration
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
The Indiana Academy is honored to have three different filmmakers presenting their films as part of Ball State’s Teachers College Centennial Celebration.
Break My Bones – November 6 at 7 p.m. in Pruis Hall
Indiana Academy faculty member and Ball State alum, David Haynes, will present and screen one of his short films, Break My Bones, and discuss his upcoming short film, Base Camp, as part of Ball State’s Teachers College Centennial Events. Haynes will be joined by Anthony Collamati, a professor of New Media Studies at Alma College. Collamati directed both films and co-wrote Break My Bones. A trailer for Base Camp and stills from the production will be shown.
Haynes produced and co-wrote Break My Bones, which has played in 12 film festivals on the international festival circuit and won “best thriller” at the Hollyshorts Film Festival in Hollywood, CA, and “first prize in cinematography” at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Break My Bones was also nominated for the Jury Prize at the Badalona Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain. Base Camp, Haynes’ newest project, will begin its festival run this year.
Goodbye World – November 29 at 7 p.m. in Pruis Hall
Indiana Academy alumnus Denis Hennelly will present his film, Goodbye World, as part of Ball State’s Teachers College Centennial Events. Originally from Wasbash, Indiana, Hennelly has written and produced a number of movies, and co-wrote Goodbye World. This movie is a relationship comedy that tells the story of a couple who raise their daughter while living off the grid until a disaster brings radical changes in the life they have been living and the way they view their friends.
Paradise Recovered – December 6 at 7 p.m. in Pruis Hall
Indiana Academy alumna Andie Redwine will present her film Paradise Recovered as part of Ball State’s Teachers College Centennial Events. A professional writer for nearly two decades, Redwine is a winner of the Hoosier Award for Film and the ISBDC EDGE award, presented screenwriting and filmmaking workshops with the prestigious Heartland Film Festival, and won a number of festival awards with her first film, Paradise Recovered, a feature that she wrote and co-produced. A proud Hoosier, Redwine created By The Glass Productions in 2009 to better tell stories that champion the strength of the human spirit.
All of these films are free events. No tickets are needed.
Academy Student to Perform with Muncie Symphony Orchestra
Friday, October 5, 2018
Sage Hamm, a senior at the Indiana Academy will be performing with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra (MSO) on Saturday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. Hamm recently won the MSO Young Artist Competition in the Senior Division. Hamm is a classical pianist-in-training currently studying with Dr. Robert Palmer, Chair of the Piano department at Ball State.
Hamm started his piano studies at the age of five, and now stays active in state and national music competitions throughout the year. As a result of this past season’s competitions, he was generously awarded performance opportunities as a featured soloist with four orchestras across the state. At the beginning of the year he performed with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and with the Indianapolis Symphony at Hilbert Circle Theatre this past June.
The MSO “Symphonic Halloween” concert on October 27 at 7:30 p.m. will be at Emens Auditorium. All Indiana Academy and Ball State students are eligible for complimentary tickets. More information about the concert is available on the MSO website at www.munciesymphony.org/event/symphonic-halloween.