by Happy National Astronaut Day 2024!
As the inspiring President and CEO of Uniphi Good, music industry insider Annie Balliro has led her successful artist management and marketing firm since 2009 before branching out into Uniphi Space Agency, which has since expanded into the private talent management firm for astronauts.
As part of the company’s hallmark #webelieveinastronauts, Uniphi Partners with corporations or institutions to advise NASA’s talented heroes in leading partnerships in media, film and television by creating a positive network of bridges between the world of space travel, the music and pop culture.
In 2016, Balliro envisioned an opportunity to create a wellspring of astronaut recognition by launching National Astronaut Day. This special event is now observed every May 5 as a tribute to Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard’s historic first space flight aboard Freedom 7 on May 5, 1961.
Related: Happy National Space Day 2024! Here’s how 8 lucky kids can win a trip to Florida’s Space Coast
This year she is delighted to preside over the first Astronaut Rock Star Awards, an evolutionary event celebrating the unique intersection of astronauts and music, with rock stars presenting awards in three categories to astronauts, individuals and organizations that are pillars of support and leading voices. in space exploration and STEM/STEAM education. All winners will be announced on 5 May 2024.
Included in this first year’s list of winners are:
Astronaut Alan Shepard – First American in Space on May 5, 1961. Astronaut Wendy Lawrence will present this legacy award to Alan’s daughter, Laura.
STEM Principal Yuridia Sanchez & 18 year old Sophia CrowderITGirls founder of girls empowerment initiatives and beyond.
Former NASA astronaut and intuitive Machines executive The Col. Jack D. Fischerwho supervised the Odysseus (“Odie”) lunar landing this year as part of the IM-1 mission in 2024. The IM-1 mission successfully landed the first spacecraft on the Moon’s south pole region, marking the first return from the United States since. Apollo 17, also the first private lunar lander on the Moon.
Fischer’s award will be presented by OAR musicians at their Boston, MA show at Leader Bank Pavilion on July 20, 2024 – coinciding with the actual moon landing date of the Apollo 11 Mission in 1969, the first time man walked on the Moon. .
The Science Haven initiative to provide 100 telescopes to 100 families across the US
“We continue to grow our roster at Uniphi Space to this day,” Balliro tells Space.com. “We have almost 40 exclusive clients and have worked with more than a hundred astronauts so far. It’s a small family if you like. We consider ourselves as allies and supporters of astronauts. That’s why we’re here, really, to help you. navigate whatever requests come in, like book deals or endorsements, and help them get active.”
When Balliro first launched the Uniphi Space Agency there was no commercial space program or private astronaut, so this was a completely new concept.
“So now it’s been such a journey because one of our clients, Michael Lopez-Alegria, has gone back to space twice and we’re an integral part of that and it’s just incredible to watch When we first started doing this with me a lot of people thought that some of our clients would be going back to the space so soon because of that we were able to do some incredible collaborations. it’s very different when there’s a private astronaut mission versus a government type. So it’s been an honor to be able to work not only with the astronauts, but with all the commercial space companies that we have in a small part of each. something because now all our astronauts work at all those companies.
“As a girl from Swampscott, her dad would drive down by Cape Canaveral and we’d stay in the trailer to watch rocket launches when I was five or six years old, and I was always fascinated at the stars, to be present there are such incredible people.”
National Astronaut Day is now in its eighth year after it began at the Space Symposium in 2016 with a core cadre of astronauts, Fisher Space Pen, and great enthusiasm.
“It was very important to get the support early,” she explains. “National Astronaut Day isn’t going anywhere. It’s now completely baked into the DNA of our culture, which is exactly what we wanted. But we knew we had to take it to the first So that’s where the Astronaut Rock Star Awards came in. The truth is, if MTV can give astronauts to bands, why can’t we give astronauts plaques?
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“The most satisfying thing for me is to feel that we’re creating something that will, I hope, last forever, that will always continue to honor and celebrate astronauts for generations to come.
“And to further increase their platform so that they can inspire people and talk about things like the ‘Overview Effect’ or continue to help space be the most beautiful example that international peace is possible, and continue to share stories about why science is so important and helps those of us on earth.
For more information on National Astronaut Day 2024, the Astronaut Rock Star Awards and their upcoming presentations, visit them on social media and their official site.
