New Go For Launch! Event Manager

Go For Launch! Bismarck

Mission Complete!

Help Higher Orbits continue to provide these GO FOR LAUNCH! events. Your donation ensures that our organization continues to excite and educate children about SPACE and STEM!


Presenting Team

Team may be subject to change due to schedules.

Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger grew up along the Front Range of Colorado. She graduated from Fort Collins High School, where she ran on two state championship cross-country teams and placed second as a Science Olympiad team. A scholar athlete, she ran cross-country and track and earned her B.A. in Geology from Whitman College. She went on to get a teaching certification from Central Washington University, and she taught earth science and astronomy for five years at Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver, WA. In addition to teaching, she coached cross country and Science Olympiad. In June of 2004, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected her to join the Astronaut Corps. After several years of training, she flew as a mission specialist on the STS-131 crew, an International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission. Dottie served as Mission Specialist 2 (also known as the flight engineer), a robotic arm operator, the Intra-vehicular crew member (the inside coordinator of the spacewalks), and a transfer crew member (helping move six tons of hardware and equipment). The mission lasted fifteen days. During June of 2012, Dottie commanded the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operation (NEEMO) in the Aquarius Reef Habitat off the Florida coast. The underwater mission sought to develop techniques for working at an asteroid, while operating under a 100-second time delay. In June of 2014, Dottie retired from the Astronaut Corps and returned to the Pacific Northwest with her family. She finished her M.S. in applied geology at the University of Washington, and she currently works as an environmental consultant for Geosyntec. In her spare time, she enjoys trail running, backpacking and hiking with her family, singing for her church’s choir, and playing the guitar. She continues to speak and promote Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education.

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Marlo Anderson, a serial entrepreneur and futurist is best known for being the founder of National Day Calendar. Trending over 450 times last year, with a average daily Social Media reach in the hundreds of millions, National Day Calendar is the most popular trending topic of all time. National Day Calendar is followed daily by more than 20,000 media outlets including Elvis Duran, Ellen Degeneres, Fox & Friends and Good Morning America. Marlo’s direct online following now numbers over 12 million people. He has appeared in most major newspapers from the Wall Street Journal to the Fargo Forum, appeared many times on national news programs and in many magazines including Time and Entrepreneur. This social media phenomenon is also the host of the radio talk show The Tech Ranch and affectionately known to his followers as the “Guru of Geek.” This unique platform has given Marlo first-hand knowledge in emerging technology trends and hardware. With a passion for start-ups Marlo has been directly involved in the creation of Pakkage, Talking Trail, Zoovio, Awesome 2 Products, 3sixty5 and National Day Calendar. His community projects include 1 Million Cups ND, the Automated Vehicle Collaborative, The Old Ten Scenic Byway, North Dakota Music Hall of Fame and the Mandan Independence Day Parade to name a few. Marlo resides in Mandan, ND.

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Michelle Lucas spent 10+ years working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. First as part of the International Space Station (ISS) Payload Safety Review Panel (PSRP) and then in the Mission Operations Directorate as a Flight Controller in ISS Mission Control and as an Astronaut Instructor in the ISS Daily Operations Group. Additionally, she worked with each of the International Partners (European Space Agency – ESA, Japanese Space Agency – JAXA, and the Russian Space Agency) in the field of Daily Operations, Flight Controller, and Instructor Training. Michelle was part of the Core NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) team for 9 missions where astronauts would carry out analog space missions underwater in the Aquarius habitat. Along the way, Michelle found she has a passion for launching the next generation’s dreams and ambitions. Her passion for inspiring students led to extensive work with other organizations in STEM outreach so she founded the non-profit Higher Orbits to use space to excite and inspire students about STEM, Leadership, Teamwork, and Communication. Michelle is proud to be a Space Camp Alum, AIAA Associate Fellow, and member of the Space Camp Hall of Fame. She believes that collaboration in space and STEM is the key to the stars! Space Inspires!

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Presented in Partnership with…

Supported by Sponsors:

Universe

Solar System Explorers

Mars Rovers

Lunar Colonists

Intergalactic Voyagers

Event Location Details

Horizon Middle School
500 Ash Coulee Dr,

Bismarck, ND 58503

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