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AMA's News

2019

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AMA's CEOS Team Makes Significant Contribution

AMA’s Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Data Services Team spent the past year working tirelessly with international groups developing cutting-edge technologies and analysis capabilities, and providing data architecture solutions for Earth Observation (EO) satellite data.  AMA's CEOS team was in Australia most recently participating in the 3rd Annual Open Data Cube (ODC) Conference and will head to Milan, Italy in May. Read More >>

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AMA Awarded NASA Armstrong ETSS Contract TOs

NASA has awarded AMA the Engineering and Technical Support Services (ETSS) Task Order 2 - Missions Operations Support, and TO 3 - Safety and Missions Assurance and Program Management Support at AFRC in Edwards, CA.

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2018

 

AMA Selected to Perform Engineering and Technical Support Services (ETSS) for AFRC

NASA has selected AMA and New Horizons Aeronautics to perform Engineering and Technical Support Services (ETSS) for the Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) in Edwards, California. The ETSS procurement is a multiple award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract not to exceed $264 million. The contract begins Feb. 1, 2019 and runs through Jan. 31, 2027.

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AMA Selected as 2018 NASA Ames Research Center Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year

AMA has been honored as the 2018 NASA Ames Research Center Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year. This achievement is a continued acknowledgement of the caliber of work and professionalism that is emblematic of AMA employees everywhere. Congratulations to each member of the AMA team at NASA Ames!

 

AMA Selected as 2018 NASA Langley Research Center Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year

AMA has been selected as the 2018 NASA Langley Research Center Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year. This award exemplifies how hard AMA works to support NASA research centers and every location we serve. Sincere congratulations to all of the AMA professionals at NASA Langley.

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Dr. Kenneth Smith Appointed New CEO of AMA

Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA), Inc announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Huntsville, Alabama office chief, Dr. Kenneth Smith, as Chief Executive Officer effective April 2, 2018. Smith joined AMA in 2009 as Senior Vice-President leading Huntsville operations and has been serving as Chairman of its Board of Directors since 2015.  After earning a doctorate in mechanical engineering, he has supported NASA and the nation’s aerospace programs for more than forty years with many contributions in propulsion, test facility design and build and project management.  Dr. Smith has been leading change at AMA for some time with successful pursuit of new business at NASA Centers across the US, acquisition of another small business and strategic alliances and increased emphasis on product development and process improvements. Married, father of two, and grandfather of three, he is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and a leader in non-profit activities and his local church.

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2017

AMA is Awarded the NASA LaRC TEAMS 3 Contract

We are very pleased to announce that NASA LaRC has awarded the Technology, Engineering, and Aerospace Mission Support 3 (TEAMS 3) contract to AMA. Under TEAMS 3, AMA will support: scientific research; engineering design, analysis, and development; technology readiness level advancement of work associated with evolving NASA missions; implementation of technology programs; test implementation and operations; systems analysis and conceptual design; and program/project management support.

 

More information:

 

Mr. John Nerger joins AMA Board of Directors 

AMA is honored to add Mr. John Nerger, Former Executive Deputy to the Commanding General at U.S. Army Material Command, to the AMA Board of Directors.

 

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2016

AMA Exhibit at the Virginia Air & Space Center (VASC)

We are proud to be part of a winning NASA grant (NASA's Competitive Program for Science Museums, Planetariums, and NASA Visitor Centers). As part of this grant, AMA is partnered with VASC in the development of an interactive exhibit focusing on STEM engagement. The exhibit will enable explorers of all ages to learn about launching into space, satellite probes of other planets, rovers, and robotic helpers for human space exploration, as well as game changing technologies. The engaging Space Challenge Exhibit will detail NASA's missions, stressing the importance of basic research to our daily lives.

 

AMA Continues its Involvement with Virginia STEAM Academy

The Virginia Science Technology Engineering and Applied Mathematics (STEAM) Academy, Inc., is a multi-dimensional, statewide initiative for students across the commonwealth of Virginia who demonstrate exceptional ability and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. AMA is a proud sponsor of VA STEAM.

 

AMA Part of the Winning Team for the NASA COMIT Contract at JSC

NASA has awarded the $300 million Communications, Outreach, Multimedia and Information Technology (COMIT) contract to MORI Associates, Inc. and its partners, including AMA. COMIT covers institutional support services for Johnson’s Information Resources Directorate and External Relations Office. Information technology services include systems engineering, management and operations; applications development and operation; database administration, and information management and support facility management. Communications, outreach and multimedia services include library and multimedia operations and repository management; writing and editing; graphics; multimedia engineering, installation, maintenance and operations, and external relations, outreach and communications.

 

AMA Part of the Winning Team for the NASA SACOM Contract at NASA SSC and NASA MAF

AMA has 36 new employees at Stennis Space Center (SSC) and Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in Bay Saint Louis, MS and New Orleans respectively. On February 1, 2016 AMA began supporting product data life cycle management - (PDLM) at SSC and MAF as a subcontractor under the new Synergy-Achieving Consolidated Operations and Maintenance (SACOM) contract. Stennis is a NASA Center with unique capabilities for propulsion testing, and leases space to the Navy, Naval Research Lab, Lockheed Martin, Aerojet/Rocketdyne, Rolls Royce and other major organizations in the aerospace industry. Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans is a world-class manufacturing facility providing vital support to NASA exploration and discovery missions. Michoud is NASA-owned and managed for the agency by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).

 

AMA Acquires Nielsen Engineering & Research (NEAR)

AMA is pleased to announce the acquisition of NEAR, a nationally respected engineering firm located in the heart of the Silicon Valley. NEAR staff including Mike Mendenhall, a former NEAR president and a well-respected aero-science expert, Dan Lesieutre, a senior research engineer, and Dr. Daniel Pruzan, with prior experience as a research scientist and director of engineering, joined AMA on February 1, 2016.

 

 

2015

AMA Intern Paints 20' Wall Mural Connecting Salamanca Spain and Wake Forest University

While studying abroad during this past fall semester, Wake Forest University rising junior and AMA intern Meredith Cheatwood completed a mural in Salamanca, Spain. The concept demonstrates an ongoing connection between Wake Forest and the Universidad de Salamanca, one of the oldest universities in Europe, by fusing recognizable architectural components from both locations. Working layer by layer, the entire project took 194 hours in total. She was invited to return to Salamanca and paint a second mural in their arts district, and received a grant from Wake to do so. Meredith is a double major in English and Studio Art with a minor in Spanish, and has interned with AMA's NASA X producers for four consecutive summers. See Meredith's work...

 

Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM)

AMA is part of the NASA team working on the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). ARM is a robotic mission that aims to land a spacecraft on an asteroid, capture, and return a 4-5 m diameter boulder from the asteroid surface to a lunar orbit with long term stability, followed by visits from astronauts. A number of technologies will be demonstrated during this mission, including the solar electric propulsion, proximity operations, planetary defense, in-situ resource utilization, etc., paving the way for an eventual human mission to Mars. AMA has been supporting this mission in all phases, including the areas of proximity operations, dynamics and control, mission design, and risk analysis.

 

AMA Part of Winning Team for NASA SACOM Contract

NASA has awarded the $1.2 billion Synergy Achieving Consolidated Operations and Maintenance (SACOM) contract to Syncom Space Service LLC and its partners, including AMA. SACOM will provide consolidated facility operations and maintenance services for institutional and technical facilities, and perform test and manufacturing support services at NASA's Stennis Space Center and Michoud Assembly Facility.

 

AMA Wins NASA ARC ESTRAD Contract

 AMA has been awarded the $43 million five-year Entry Systems Technology Research and Development ( contract by NASA Ames Research Center (ARC). This exciting contract supports the Entry Systems and Technology Division at ARC in order to meet evolving NASA mission objectives. Work includes the development of technologies for use in the design and fabrication of prototype vehicles that travel at hypervelocities in the atmosphere of Earth and other bodies in the solar system - including access to Earth orbit and reentry, sustained high-altitude hypersonic flight, planetary entry, and high altitude aerocapture.  We look forward to delivering innovative technical and management solutions in partnership with our customer ARC. Our growth and excellence over the past years are fully attributed to our dedicated and passionate AMA employees.

 

 

 

2014

NASA X Wins Regional Emmy

The AMA produced television program “NASA X: Power and Propulsion” won a Capital Region Emmy on June 14, 2014 for best Informational Program. This program featured work performed by the Game Changing Development Program at NASA’s Langley Research Center and Glenn Research Center. This is the second Emmy for NASA X, produced by Kevin Krigsvold and Michael Bibbo and is supported by AMA Studios’ Advanced Concepts Lab. You can view this and all NASA X programs at www.nasa.gov/nasax or by going to Hulu, iTunes, or catch it on one of the 450+ TV station partners.

 

New Episode of NASA X Released

AMA is proud to announce the release of the next episode of NASA X. On this episode, follow members of the Environmentally Responsible Aviation team as they conduct a variety of tests on exciting, new aircraft designs that are in the early stages of development. See how these initial designs and ideas are moved through the NASA pipeline from computer drawings and wind tunnel models, all the way to scale-model aircraft and full-scale flights. Each new step brings us closer to flying on board revolutionary aircraft that are safer, more efficient, and quieter. 

View the Latest NASA X Episode
This is the sixth show in the NASA X series. Another episode featuring NASA's Fixed Wing project will be out soon. NASA X can be seen on numerous platforms including:

 

AMA's Michael Bibbo Selected "NASA's Videographer Of The Year"

 AMA’s Mike Bibbo has been selected as NASA’s Videographer of the Year for his work with the NASA X program. This award is chosen by a panel of “motion media professionals” from NASA and national organizations. Entries are rated on professional excellence, technical quality, originality, creativity within restrictions of the project, and applicability to NASA and its mission. 

 

AMA Wins 2014 SBIR Funding

Congratulations to AMA employee John Abrams, his NASA Phase 1 SBIR proposal for "Tensioned Rollable Ultra-light Solar array System (TRUSS)" was selected for funding.

 

AMA's Jeremy Shidner Selected as the AIAA Hampton Roads Section 2014 Engineer of the Year!

Jeremy received the award for his excellent contributions to the successful Entry, Descent, and Landing of the Mars Science Laboratory.

 

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2013

AMA HQ has Moved!

AMA Headquarters has moved into a new facility located at 21 Enterprise Parkway, Suite 300 Hampton, VA 23666.

 

AMA part of winning team on NASA STEM Grant

"The $589,423 award is for "STEMtastic: NASA in Our Community," a two-year project designed to educate and inspire teachers, students and lifelong learners to embrace NASA science, technology, engineering and mathematics or STEM content. The Virginia Air & Space Center (VASC) will partner with the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc. for the STEMtastic project."  (NASA's Official News Release)

 

Solarmer Energy Inc. Teams with AMA to Win a STTR

 Solarmer Energy Inc. recently teamed with AMA to win a AFRL, Kirtland AFB, STTR titled “Development of Light-Weight, Low Cost and High Specific Power Organic Solar Modules with High Radiation Hardness" .

 

AMA is Part of USRA's Winning Team for the NASA ARTS Contract

The team will support applied research in Glenn’s core competencies and enabling technologies, including understanding the effects of the space environment; materials and structures for aerospace applications; engine systems technologies for aerospace vehicles; in-space power and propulsion systems; instrumentation, sensors and controls for aeronautics and space systems; and technologies for safe and efficient aircraft operation in atmospheric icing conditions. NASA's Official News Release

 

ZIN Tech. Inc. with AMA as a Subcontractor Wins the NASA SPACEDOC 2 Contract

The team will support the definition, design, development, analysis, fabrication, assembly, test, verification, delivery, and operation of spaceflight systems on the International Space Station. NASA's Official News Release

 

 AMA CEO Renjith Kumar Selected as an Associate Fellow of the AIAA

Associate Fellow is a distinction conferred upon outstanding members of the Institute who have made notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics and astronautics.

 

AMA President Hans Seywald Selected as an Associate Fellow of the AIAA

Associate Fellow is a distinction conferred upon outstanding members of the Institute who have made notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics and astronautics.

 

AMA's Jeremy Shidner Selected as the AIAA Hampton Roads Section 2014 Engineer of the Year

Jeremy received the award for his excellent contributions to the successful Entry, Descent, and Landing of the Mars Science Laboratory.

 

AMA Awarded a Marshall Integrated Program Support Service

AMA and its teammates have been awarded the MIPSS Blanket Purchase Agreement by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The purpose of the MIPSS procurement is to obtain programmatic support services necessary to support MSFC's current and future programs/projects in each of the following work areas: (1) Program Planning and Control; (2) Cost Estimating and Analysis; (3) Configuration Management and Data Management; (4) Project Coordination and (5) Subject Matter Expert Support.

 

David Gilman - NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal

David Gilman of Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc. is receiving NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal for leading the Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment-3 mission through its development and successful flight in 2012. This prestigious NASA medal is awarded to NASA employees for notable leadership accomplishments that have significantly influenced the NASA Mission.

 

NASA X Earns Emmy Nomination

 Mike Bibbo and Kevin Krigsvold of Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc. (www.ama-inc.com) have earned an Emmy nomination for their work on NASA X. NASA X is a 30 minute television show and podcast created by Mike and Kevin focused on innovative NASA technologies and the NASA scientists, researchers and engineers behind them. Debuting in 2012, the first episode showcased the Environmentally Responsible Aviation program. Three additional NASA X programs have been created featuring the Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment 3, the Mars Science Laboratory Entry Descent and Landing Instrument, and several projects within the NASA Game Changing Development Program. NASA X is currently distributed online through the NASA Portal, YouTube and Hulu, public television airing on PBS, and through airline in-flight programming. Current episodes can be found at http://www.nasa.gov/nasax.  This is Mike and Kevin's fourth nomination for a Regional Emmy. They have won two of their three previous nominations for their prior work on Destination Tomorrow and NASA 360. Mike was also nominated for a National Emmy for his work on NASA 360. Announcement of winners for this year’s Emmy nominations takes place on June 15.

 

 

2012

AMA is Awarded NASA LaRC TEAMS 2 Contract

AMA has been awarded the $327.5 million five-year Technology, Engineering  and Aerospace Mission Support 2 (TEAMS 2) contract by NASA Langley Research Center. AMA’s winning team includes Northrop Grumman, Praxis, Science  and Technology Corporation and an array of niche small businesses and subject matter experts.  We are absolutely delighted to win the TEAMS 2 contract. We look forward to a seamless phase-in and delivering innovative technical and management solutions in partnership with our long-time customer NASA Langley Research Center. Our growth and excellence over the past years are fully attributed to our dedicated and passionate AMA employees. NASA's Official News Release.

 

NASA Langley Wins 2012 Commercial Invention of the Year

A team of NASA Langley civil servants and contractors received the NASA Langley Wins 2012 Commercial Invention of the Year for the development of a stabilization method for low-temperature catalysts. The technology was developed to address thermal stability issues associated with tin-oxide-based oxidation/reduction catalysts to enable their use in high-temperature applications like automotive catalytic convertors. The team, which included AMA employees, Jacqueline Schryer and Jeff Jordan, performed the work over 10 years ago, which culminated in a series of patents including, Jordan, et al, “Methodology for the Effective Stabilization of Tin-Oxide-Based Oxidation/Reduction Catalysts”, US Patent 7,985,709, which was filed in 2003 and issued July 26, 2011.  This technology was featured in a NASA education and outreach program entitled, “Destination Tomorrow”, which was produced by current AMA Senior Producers, Kevin Krigsvold and Michael Bibbo (http://archive.org/details/destination_tomorrrow_8). The intellectual property was licensed to Airflow Catalyst Systems, Inc. (http://www.airflowcatalyst.com/) of Rochester, NY and has been commercialized for a host of diesel-engine applications for the mining, forestry, locomotive, marine and construction industries.

 

AMA Team Finishes 6th in the 6th Annual Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC 6)

Congratulations to Min Qu and Jonathan Chrone for their outstanding efforts. GTOC is a competition aimed at advancing the automation of the trajectory design process.

 

AMA Develops an iPad App for Rocket City Space Pioneers

AMA recently developed an iPad App for Rocket City Space Pioneers. AMA is proud to be part of "the Huntsville-centric team competing in the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE."

 

Mars Science Laboratory Successfully Lands

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) successfully landed on August 6, 2012 at 1:32 am ET. Congratulations to all the AMA employees who have provided their expertise in areas such as Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) modeling and simulation, aerodynamics, MEDLI (MSL EDL Instrumentation) to the MSL over the past several years. NASA's Official News Release.

 

NASA Successfully Tests Hypersonic Inflatable Heat Shield

"The Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) was launched on July 23, 2012 from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. The purpose of the IRVE-3 test was to show that a space capsule can use an inflatable outer shell to slow and protect itself as it enters an atmosphere at hypersonic speed during planetary entry and descent, or as it returns to Earth with cargo from the International Space Station." (NASA) IRVE-3 is part of NASA’s Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) program which is a cornerstone to future missions such as the HEART and Mars Human Exploration. Congratulations to all the AMA employees who have contributed to this successful experiment. NASA's Official News Release.

 

 

2011

NASA Langley Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year

 For the second year in a row, AMA, Inc. has been selected the recipient of a 2011 NASA Small Business Industry Award (SBIA) for "Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year" at NASA LaRC. As a Center-level SBIA winner, AMA, Inc. will now be considered as a candidate for the Agency-level SBIA to be announced on November 3, 2011. 

 

AMA Wins 2011 SBIR Funding

 Congratulations to AMA employee's Haijun Shen and Chris Karlgaard, their NASA Phase 1 SBIR proposal for "Parallelization of Sigma Point and Particle Filters" was selected for funding. 

 

AMA Creates a Video of Encouragement for Japan

In conjunction with the International Space Exploration Coordination Group, AMA created a video to encourage the people of Japan who have suffered from the damage of the earthquake on March 11, 2011. The video can be viewed on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency website. Congratulations and thank you to the AMA multimedia team for their great work (Dave Helton, Bob Evangelista, Josh Sams, and Chris Keblitis).

 

AMA COVE Team Acknowledged by NASA

The AMA CEOS Visualization Environment (COVE) Team was recently acknowledged for its contributions to the program. Brian Killough (CEOS Systems Engineering Office, LaRC) said: "I would like to thank AMA for their outstanding support and innovative ideas during our COVE development. I look forward to our continued working relationship and more great things for COVE." Congratulations to all the AMA team members for their outstanding work: Sanjay Gowda, Brian Williams, Paul Kessler, Shaun Deacon, and Min Qu.

 

NASA Developing Ways To Transfer Fuel In Space

Space.com (8/6, Moskowitz) reported, "NASA has awarded contracts to four companies with plans to study how to store and transfer fuel in space." NASA said this is a "critical" technology for people to explore space. Analytical Mechanics Associates, Ball Aerospace & Technologies, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin won the contracts to "help define a mission concept to demonstrate the cryogenic fluid management technologies, capabilities and infrastructure required for sustainable, affordable human presence in space," according to a NASA statement.

 

NASA Langley Celebrates 30 Years of Contributions to The Space Shuttle Program

NASA Langley recently celebrated its contributions to The Space Shuttle Program. As part of the celebrations, the center created a video highlighting many of its outstanding contributions to the program. Watch the video...

 

AMA Studios Work on msnbc.om

Graphics created by the AMA Studios team were included in an article about NASA testing an undersea asteroid. The article was featured in the Cosmic Log on msnbc.com. The images depicting a Space Exploration Vehicle and an astronaut using a network of anchors and tethers were created by the AMA team.

 

Crew Exploration Vehicle Parachute Assembly System Independent Reliability Assessment Team

Congratulations to Jeremy Schidner on winning a NESC Group Achievement Award for his work on the Crew Exploration Vehicle Parachute Assembly System Independent Reliability Assessment Team.

 

AMA Finishes 8th in the 5th Annual Global Trajectory Optimization Competition

GTOC is a prestigious competition among world-class orbital mechanics and trajectory design organizations to solve a complex planetary trajectory optimization problem. This year's competition was sponsored by Lomonosov Moscow State University Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics.  Congratulations to Min Qu, Jonathan Chrone, Haijun Shen, and Hans Seywald for their outstanding efforts. Of the 38 registered teams, only 15 submitted acceptable solutions.  GTOC is a competition aimed at advancing the automation of the trajectory design process.

 

AeroSpace Day

Meet us at the NASA 6th Annual AeroSpace Day (reception and meetings) at the Virginia General Assembly February 2 and 3, 2011. More Information...

 

 

2010

George M. Low Award Winner

NASA presented its highest honor for quality and performance, the George M. Low Award, to Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA), a company known for its commitment to teamwork, safety, customer service, technical and managerial excellence.  The George M.Low award demonstrates NASA's commitment to promote excellence and continual improvement by challenging the agency's contractor community to be a global benchmark of quality management practices. More Information...

 

NASA selects AMA team to be part of the Heavy-Lift Launch Vehicle Studies

AMA will be part of a team that will conduct systems analysis and trade studies for evaluating heavy-lift launch vehicle systems concepts, propulsion technologies, and affordability. See the NASA press release here.

 

AMA in the News

Congratulations to Sanjay Gowda on being promoted to AMA's Chief Information Officer. AMA also welcomes Jeff Jordan as its Chief Operating Officer. More Information...

 

AMA Wins SBIR Phase II Funding

Congratulations to AMA employee's Chris Karlgaard and Haijun Shen, their NASA Glenn Phase II SBIR proposal for "Desensitized Filtering and Sensor Fusion Tool Kit" was selected for funding.

 

AMA Studios Work Featured on WHRO TV's "What Matters"

WHRO TV's "What Matters" recently aired an episode entitled "Focus on the Future". Examples of the animation work done by AMA Studios can be seen on the program. Watch the video...

 

NASA Pad Abort-1

Congratulations to the numerous AMA employee's that worked on the successful Pad Abort-1 flight test. Pad Abort is a launch abort system designed for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. More Information...

 

5th Annual Aerospace Day at the Virginia General Assembly

AMA is participating in the 5th Annual Aerospace Day at the Virginia General Assembly, February 3 and 4, 2010, to increase awareness of how vital NASA and the aerospace industry are to the economic well-being and future of the Commonwealth. Aerospace Day Fact Sheet...

 

 

2009

AMA Wins STTR Funding

Congratulations to AMA employee Haijun Shen, his Air Force Phase 1 STTR proposal with Ryan P. Russell (Ga. Tech.) for "Fast Trajectory Generation in High-Fidelity Geopotentials Using Finite Elements, Mascons, and Parallelism" was selected for funding.

 

AMA Wins SBIR Funding

Congratulations to AMA employee's Chris Karlgaard and Haijun Shen, their NASA Glenn Phase 1 SBIR proposal for "Desensitized Filtering and Sensor Fusion Tool Kit" was selected for funding.

 

AMA Testifies to U.S. Congress

AMA senior personal (Dr. Hans Seywald, Dr. Sanjay Gowda, and Mr. Barry Meredith) testify on Capitol Hill discussing the "Role of Federal Labs in Spurring Innovation". Read Dr. Seywald's statements here. AMA was recognized by Deputy Center Director Cindy Lee in a combined testimony to Congressman Glenn Nye. Video of the testimonies can be seen here.

 

Ares I-X Completes a Successful Flight Test

 On October 28, 2009 as part of the NASA Constellation program, ARES 1-X successfully completed its first flight test from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. AMA employee's contributed to several areas of the project, including; structural design of the "Transitional Structure", "Trajectory Analysis" (simulation verification, range safety deliverables, and day-of-launch simulation), and "Generating Engineering Animations" of ascent and stage separation simulations and recontact analysis. Congratulations to Chris Karlgaard, Aaron Olds, Roger Beck, Brady White, Scott Angster, and Anjie Baker for their outstanding contributions to the project.

 

Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE)

On August 17, 2009 IRVE performed a successful flight test, demonstrating how spacecraft can use inflatable heat shields to slow and protect themselves when re-entering the earth's atmosphere. Congratulations to AMA employees, RJ Bodkin, Tim Shekoski, Dave Bose, Aaron Olds, Stephen O’ Keefe, John Van Norman, Chris Karlgaard, Roger Beck, and summer intern Brandon Smith for their contributions to the project.

 

AMA Achieves SEI CMMI Maturity Level 3 Rating

July 2009, AMA achieved Maturity Level 3 (ML3) of the Software Engineering Institute's (SEI) Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI v1.2 DEV). The ML3 rating recognizes AMA's ongoing commitment to delivering high quality products on schedule, maintaining customer loyalty, rapidly and effectively responding to customer requirements, as well as remaining in the forefront of engineering, IT, and visualization technologies.

 

Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) Launches

AMA employee's (Rob Calloway, Erik Tyler, Tim Shekoski, Rob Matarese, Toby Greider, Luke Novak, John Van Norman, Sverrir Rosario, Aaron Horning) helped put MLAS up in the air and the NASA Constellation program on solid ground. MLAS is an alternative method for astronauts to escape their launch vehicle in dangerous situations. "I hope this program in the first of many steps to come in the coming year that will show how NASA with the help of AMA is ready to go back to the moon. We have big shoes to fill from the Apollo days but we are on our way." - Erik Tyler More information about MLAS can be found in the Virginia Pilot and at NASA Watch.

 

AMA Featured in Inside Business Magazine (http://www.insidebiz.com) 
Read the article...

 

AMA Achieves ISO 9001:2000 and AS9100:2004 Certification

On May 1st 2009, AMA was successfully audited for ISO 9001:2000 and AS9100:2004 for all of their Engineering, Scientific and Information Technology practices. AMA has integrated these international Process Improvement registrations and Best Practices into their overall Quality Management System. AMA also anticipates attaining CMMI Level 3 Maturity in July of 2009.

 

NASA Selects Hampton Firms for Engineering Support

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected Analytical Services & Materials Inc., and Analytical Mechanics Associates Inc., both of Hampton, Va., to provide analysis, systems engineering and research support for NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton. The fixed price, multiple award blanket purchase agreements have an aggregate maximum value of $100 million during a period of five years. The Hampton firms will provide scientific, engineering, and design and development activities in aerodynamics, mechanical, structural, thermal, propulsion, fluid systems, electrical and electronics, avionics and controls, instrumentation and advanced sensor, and manufacturing technology. The work will be performed at Langley and at contractor locations.