The Aerospace & Innovation Academy (AIA) provides unique STEM experiences, opportunities, and after-school programs for motivated middle and high school students and educators. From camps, after-school clubs, tutoring, consulting, and classes, the AIA can help your student stand out on resumes as well as help teachers to excel in the classroom. Many of our former students have gone on to attend prestigious boarding schools out of middle school, have been accepted at high schools of their choice, and many others excel at Science Fair and numerous other competitions. Our students present at conferences, write technical papers, and advocate at our state and national level on behalf of aerospace. Your students can experience these opportunities too!
Both groups meet virtually weekly to allow students from all around the country to be part of the team!
AIA students will participate in trimester SPACE Clubs as the pathway to join the Wolfpack CubeSat Development Team. Students will learn to use the mathematics related to orbital mechanics, spacecraft ascent/descent, and interplanetary travel. Emphasis will be placed on identifying aerospace-themed research topics. Students will work in groups in preparation for various space settlement contests, and engage with aerospace professionals through industrial connections and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Wolfpack members have built three spacecraft (2 CubeSats and 1 hosted payload) which launched in 2018, 2022, and 2023. Wolfpack students have written accepted papers and presented at national and international conferences over 100 times since 2018.
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THE TEAM
Kevin Simmons
Co-creator of AIA
Shawna Christenson Co-creator of AIA
Kevin L. Simmons is a professional educator, principal investigator and Congressional advocate with a professional focus at the intersection of authentic aerospace and equity in education. He founded BLUECUBE Aerospace, Inc., and the Wolfpack CubeSat Development team (WCDT), and co-created the Aerospace and Innovation Academy, Inc. (AIA) and successful SmallSat Education Conference. Simmons and his 11-21 year old Wolfpack students have launched 3 spacecraft to date, and was the first middle school aged team selected by NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative in 2017, and again in 2019. He is Principal Investigator for the WeissSat-1 (2018), CapSat-1 (2022), and WolfSat-1 (2025) missions. WolfSat-1 was selected by Firefly Aerospace's DREAM 2.0 program for flight in 2025, Simmons is Co-I for the WCDT's first hosted payload, FlipSat-1 (2024). He is trained as a biochemist, and has worked in industry, military and academia.
Simmons completed two years as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow and four years as a senior policy analyst in the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Directorate. He serves in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) as the Region II Deputy Director for Public Policy and a member of both the AIAA SmallSat and Education Technical Committees. Simmons is the past president of the Florida Association for the Gifted, a current Area Director for the Florida Association of Science Teachers, a member of the inaugural Limitless Space Institute Educator Fellowship, a 2023 NASA HEAT Physics Ambassador, a Space Foundation Teacher Liaison, and an ISS Educator Ambassador. His recent national awards include the National Space Council Space Worker Hall of Fame, AIAA Foundation Educator Achievement Award, and the Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University with Biochemistry and Chemistry degrees and will graduate in December with a Master's degree in Aerospace Science. A recipient of the Dwyer Award for Excellence in STEM Education, he is a professional educator with a gifted endorsement and licensed to teach Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Earth/Space Science and 6th-12th Mathematics.
Shawna L. Christenson is a graduate of the University of Central Florida (BS, Secondary English Education) and Florida Atlantic University (MS, Curriculum & Instruction). She is a Florida certified English teacher (grades 6-12) and holds endorsements in Gifted, Reading, and ESOL. Ms. Christenson has been teaching for twenty-three years in Palm Beach and Martin Counties with a focus on English, Public Speaking, and Debate. She is a Space Foundation Teacher Liaison, the K-12 STEM education liaison for the Palm Beach section of The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, an officer in the Palm Beach Middle School Forensic League, and is a nationally recognized Diamond Debate coach, earning the distinction of National Speech and Debate Association Middle School Coach of the Year in 2020.
Ms. Christenson believes in helping students become confident communicators who can share their passions outside the classroom through participating in legislative blitzes, writing technical papers, presenting at conferences, and working closely with legislators not only to talk about policy but to create it. With the help of her students, Ms. Christenson worked with State Representative Brian Mast on two resolutions to increase awareness of the CubeSat Launch Initiative and CubeSats in education. From this passion, the Aerospace Public Policy Institute was developed in order to help other students, teachers, and schools to communicate, educate, advocate and legislate for their own interests. In addition to presenting at the Florida Association for the Gifted twice, she has presented technical papers on science identity formation in elementary students at numerous international conferences. She regularly works with students on their technical papers and PowerPoint presentations to make sure they are prepared. She is the "talkie" side of the "techies and talkies" that is offered as part of the Aerospace and Innovation Academy.
"Many born in the sixties and seventies daydreamed of becoming astronauts, ballerinas, soldiers, or actresses. The imagination and creativity of a child encourages curiosity and excitement – all potent fuels for learning. As adults, thrilling highs and crushing lows occur less and less frequently. The euphoria so easily experienced as children is replaced by the minor blips and dips of the daily grind. So when an educator is afforded the opportunity to bring a vision to reality, one must wholeheartedly accept the challenge."
-Kevin L. Simmons, Principal Investigator for WeissSat-1
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BLUECUBE Aerospace
Kevin L. Simmons,
Principal Investigator
Kevin L. Simmons is a professional educator, author, principal investigator and Congressional advocate. He founded BLUECUBE Aerospace, Inc., co-created the Aerospace and Innovation Academy, Inc. (AIA), and currently leads the Wolfpack CubeSat Development team (WCDT) in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Simmons is Principal Investigator for two NASA-selected missions selected by NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) in 2017 and 2019. He led the first middle school team to launch a CubeSat on December 3rd, 2018 and his WCDT was the only K-12 entity selected nationwide by the 2019 CSLI. He is trained as a biochemist, and has worked in industry, military and academia. Simmons completed two years as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow and four years as a senior policy analyst in the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Directorate. He serves in a leadership role in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Palm Coast section and as a member of the AIAA SmallSat Technical Committee. Simmons is the current president of the Florida Association for the Gifted, and Area Director for the Florida Association of Science Teachers, member of the inaugural Limitless Space Institute Educator Fellowship, and a 2023 NASA AAPT HEAT Physics Ambassador. Simmons recent national-level awards include the National Space Council Space Worker Hall of Fame, AIAA Foundation Educator Achievement Award, Dwyer Award for Excellence in STEM education, and Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University with Biochemistry and Chemistry degrees, and is a professional educator with a gifted endorsement and licensed to teach Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Earth/Space Science and 6th-12th Mathematics.
The 501(c)3 Wolfpack CubeSat Development Team (WCDT) engages and prepares 10-18 year old students to design, build, test, and fly CubeSats in small teams before graduating high school.
Through support from BLUECUBE Aerospace (bluecubesat.com) and the Aerospace and Innovation Academy (AerospaceHigh.org) programs, students participate annually in the NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative and conduct high altitude balloon launches.
Wolfpack students write, present, and publish technical papers at national and international conferences, and create and publish children's picture books and activity books on aerospace topics. WCDT's lead mentored the first middle school team, selected by NASA's CSLI, to space in 2018. Wolfpack students participate and lead teams in the annual Florida Space Day in Tallahassee and AIAA Congressional Visits Days in Washington, D.C.
The WCDT employs a "BLUE-SKY Learning" philosophy, and embraces a "Techies and Talkies" approach for engagement. Wolfpack students work well in teams, mentor younger students, and are confident and practiced communicators. The Wolfpack best positions students to remain in the STEM pipeline through their college years. Several recent Wolfpack student presentations may be viewed on their AIA YouTube channel or learn more from the AIA's "Let's Go To Space: BLUE-SKY Learning" podcast.
Sign up for Camps, SPACE Club, or the Wolfpack here:
The Wolfpack Orbital Launch Fund & Competition - The 'WOLF-C'
The Wolfpack is launching a nationwide CubeSat flight opportunity for secondary students. Despite the CubeSat revolution in our New Space Economy, high costs to space access and a lack of training impede maximum use of this disruptive form factor in the STEM pipeline. The WOLF-C addresses these issues.
Manufacturing and launch costs prevent nearly all capable middle and high school students from doing so. Most efforts to lower barrier to access focus on university teams. Second, secondary schools don't have suitable access for instructor training.
The WOLF-C is a competitive grant system specifically targeted towards secondary education to lower cost and knowledge barriers. Join us at the SmallSat Education Conference (29-30 Oct) for the official launch of the WOLF-C.
This year, the third annual SSEC at Kennedy Space Center was the largest to date! This year SSEC saw over 540 registered attendees, 36 presenters, 6 workshops, and 30 vendors come together to promote the use of HABs, ThinSats, CubeSats, and PocketQubes to pre-college students and educators. The keynote speaker was Kenneth S. Reightler, former astronaut and U.S. Naval Academy professor.
The SSEC organizers (K Simmons and K Johnson) wanted to say a special thank you to the parents and Wolfpack students (Alex C, Gabe M, Michael M, etc.) who volunteered at the AMF's Center for Space Education Building - your support made this a really special weekend. Special shout out to new Wolfpack members who presented for the first time: Lucas L, Teddy S, Finn B, Ryan H, and Shiv P. Of course we are also proud of our other outstanding presenters as well including Jasmin C, Paul K, Sofia K, Santi G, Brian W, Sean W, and Daniel PL. Having our meeting within the KSC Visitor Complex also allowed us to view a Falcon-9 launch on Saturday evening.
We announced we are creating a $5000 educator award for CubeSat-related curriculum which we will award next year, along with the Goddard100 art, writing and engineering student contests which we'll announce on 1 December at Goddard100.org. Our 4th annual SSEC will occur on 25-26 October at KSC's AMF with keynote Dr. Norman Fitz-Coy.