In the next couple of weeks AGI is going to be hosting an online game – dubbed "Are You Smarter Than A Rocket Scientist" or "AYSTARS" – where you will have a chance to test your knowledge against other customers, AGI’ers and the general public. This game consists of at least one multiple choice question each week leading up to the August AGI Users' Conference. The beauty of the game is that you don’t have to actually be a rocket scientist to play; anyone who’s up for the challenge can join in the fun. You can play on your own or pull together a team together for a chance to win some fabulous prizes ranging from an iPOD touch to a Blu-Ray player. The top eight scorers who also attend the UC will have the option to compete in this year’s Iron Geek bracket for a chance to win a $500 Visa gift card! The game starts on Monday, June 8, so start your training now. Check out the video below for all the details and then visit http://www.agi.com/aystars/ to register and play!

Till Next Time, 

Rocket Girl (aka Amanda)

That’s right; we are getting ready for the AGI UC 2009 coming up in August! Last year's event in Chicago was a huge success because of you, our users, and we need your help again! Make sure you answer our call for presentations. We would love to hear how you are using our software to solve your space, defense or intelligence needs, so why not share with us and other users? All you need to do is e-mail presentation@agiuc.com with your abstract (no more than 500 words please). You'll need to do this by May 15, so get started now!

If you weren’t able to make it last year, you can still get the resources at http://uc.agi.com/ucresources/2008/, or you can check out some highlights of what you missed here: http://uc.agi.com/images/AGIUsers.wmv.

Well that’s all for this time, but stay tuned to the blog for more information on the upcoming event not only from me, but from some of your favorite AGI’ers as well!

Till Next Time,

Rocket Girl (aka Amanda)

I just wanted to say a big thanks to all of you who attended the AGI UC ’08! It was truly a fantastic event, and we couldn’t have done it without all of our users. From the Tech Zone and the Iron Geek contest, to the Google Lunar X PRIZE announcement, to all of the great user presentations and keynotes from Brig Gen (ret) Duane Deal and Captain Alan Bean, it was truly an out of this world event! If you didn’t make it to the UC this year, don’t forget you can download all the resources and watch a great video montage (you are going to be so jealous of all of us that were there once you see it)!  Also, save the date for next year’s AGI User Exchange (UX), coming to Washington D.C. Aug 18-19, 2009! Stay tuned to agi.com for more details.

Now this isn’t the end of Rocket Girl! This girl is taking her blog over to AGI’s developer network (ADN).  You can check out Rocket Girl’s Blog for tips and tricks on how to use STK for launch vehicle and missile analysis (you know - rocket stuff).

Alright gang, we are less than a week away from the big event and the AGI UC Team is working around the clock to prepare! Since it's so crazy around here, I thought I’d drop in on the team to see how things are going on packing day. I also have my own message for all of you thinking about coming to the conference but who still haven’t decided yet. So sit back and relax and see what Meghan Thompson, Stefanie Claypoole, Andrea Grow, and I have to say:

Can you believe it?! They actually thought they could leave me behind! Well since they still might I guess I better wrap this up so I can get on out to Chicago to meet y'all. Remember, you don’t get many opportunities to have so many AGI software experts and users in one place at the same time, so you don’t want to miss out. If you haven’t registered—go do it now! If you haven’t built your schedule—get on it! Time is running out!

See you in Chicago!

Rocket Girl (aka Amanda)

Well, maybe not exactly international. I went down the hall to chat with Nicholas Thomson, a member of our International Team. Now even though that’s about as international as Rocket Girl here will probably get, that’s nowhere near how international the UC will be.  Did you know that there will be 13 different countries represented at the UC? 20% of our attendees are from outside of the United States and the farthest people will travel to get to Chicago will be our Australian business partners! We even have two international presenters – Maya Glickman from Israel Aircraft Industries/Mabat will be presenting  Mission Planning and Analysis for AMOS Satellites, and Guiseppe Corrao of Telespazio S.P.A will be talking about Integrating STK with DIS and HLA in a Distributed Simulation Environment. (I have to give a big thanks to our UC Registration Coordinator Andrea Grow for giving me the awesome stats, make sure you say hi to her at the registration desk in Chicago). Since we are having such a large international presence at the UC, I had Nick sit down and talk to you about why our international software users should come: 
So wherever in the world you are traveling from, the UC is a fantastic place to get up to date on what’s going on with our software and with other users. We are less then two weeks away from the big event so if you haven’t registered, go do it now!! Time is running out and you don’t want to be the only one not going because you waited too long to register! That’s it for now; we hope to see you there!

Till Next Time,
Rocket Girl (aka Amanda) 

I needed a little break from feverishly working on the Missile Defense Solution Session scenario that I’m building for the UC so I decided to head up to the third floor "Kids Room" here at HQ to recharge my brain with some video games. Who should I find working just as feverishly as I have been (although at a miniature desk?!?) but Dave Bissett, AGI Consulting Manager and UC Presentation Coordinator. He agreed to take a few minutes to tell you about some of the hottest presentations we have lined up for you. Dave rocks a wicked faux hawk, but whether it’s more awesome than Josh Poley’s is up to you to decide.What's even sweeter than Dave's faux hawk are all the fabulous users we have coming to share how they are using AGI software in their work. Now you guys know me, I’m definitely not missing Matt Feldmeier’s presentation on Ballistic Missile Defense Intercept Debris Analysis. It’s about how STK was used to calculate, propagate, and visualize impact debris clouds from successful missile intercepts (also Matt is currently pursuing his master’s degree at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, which is where Rocket Girl here got her bachelor's. Go Chargers!). Click here for more on the 27 User Presentations scheduled for the UC this year. 

Time is quickly running out, so if you haven’t registered for the UC I suggest you go and do it now so you don’t miss out on any of these exciting presentations.  Well that’s it for now.

Till Next Time,

Rocket Girl (aka Amanda)

Have you noticed how many experts we have coming to the UC? There are a TON who will be on hand to talk to you. And while you might think that everyone from AGI will be at the conference, unfortunately we have to leave some behind to support our customers who can't make it to Chicago! I happened to find two members of the inside sales team, Grant Triffo and Mike Ribeiro, who will be stuck at our Exton headquarters. They aren’t too happy about that. Here’s what they had to say:

You heard Grant, let’s go! Go and get yourself registered and create your schedule so that you aren’t missing out on all the fantastic opportunities to meet the experts, get up to speed on our software through training, and meet other users. We have guys here who would love to go but can’t, so you would be crazy to miss out on this opportunity! We have about a month left until the big event kicks off so don't delay ... register today!  Well that’s all I have for now.

Till next time,

Rocket Girl (aka Amanda)

Since Eric Patterson mentioned last week how coming to the UC is a great opportunity to meet the people who answer your software questions over the phone and through e-mail, I thought it would be the perfect time to introduce Product Support team. This quirky group of engineers (yes, they are all actual engineers) is led by Josh Poley. Josh has been with AGI for eight years (and rockin' a wickedly awesome faux hawk for at least four of them) and is currently the Sales and Product Support manager. This is what he had to say about the UC and the Support Team:
 
Just meeting that unique team is worth the price of admission to the UC! They will be available all week long to discuss any burning questions you have about AGI’s products. So seek out Luis Montano and fire off some STK/MMT hot topics that you might have, or locate Sean Boyer to find out more about AGI’s GIS functionality. The team also just launched a new blog, AGI Geeks, where you can ask questions of AGI subject matter experts or other users, and even provide your own insights and best practices.

So while I was down in Huntsville last week for the Space and Missile Defense Conference, I ran into Eric Patterson of Riverside Research Institute. Now Eric and the gang down at RRI are longtime users of AGI software and have attended and presented at our conferences in the past. So I thought instead of having someone from the AGI crew tell you why you should come to the UC, I would have Eric explain what you will get out of the conference. Here is what he had to say:

Interested in the work that the guys from RRI are doing with AGI software? Then don't miss John Ploschnitznig's presentation on RRI's Automated Collection Planning Tool, which is used for collection planning in support of the scheduled TACSAT-3 program and utilizes STK for satellite propagation; sensor functionality; target constraints in azimuth and elevation; communication constraints; and environmental constraints. Don’t worry, Eric will be there too so stop by and say hi (or see him at Monte Carlo night, you know he’s going to be there)! Also the UC online schedule builder will be going live this week. It's first-come, first-served to registrants, so better secure your space now to ensure you get first pick of user presentations, technical sessions, and hands-on training! 

Till next time!

Rocket Girl (aka Amanda) 

**Warning: This blog will reveal new STK 9 functionality. If you’d rather be surprised upon the official software release, please do not read any further. There are spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.**

Life here at AGI is rarely boring. I sit on the second floor, kind of in a corner of the building near the Product Management team. Right now Product Management is buzzing with activity due to the upcoming STK 9 release. From my little corner of the AGI world I was able to capture a pretty interesting debate between two of our STK 9 product managers, Victor Alvarez and Ronnie Allan, over their favorite features. It was so entertaining that I had to share it with you:

So what do you think your favorite feature will be? I’m looking forward to the user interface plugin capability! I can’t wait to build my own missile analysis GUI panels, even though I’m not the world’s best coder (thankfully, STK makes it easy for me!). Also, having STK reports and graphs now integrated into a single output tool interface has me pretty excited! You’ll be able to catch a sneak peek of STK 9 at the UC. If you can’t wait until then, check out the Special Edition InView, there’s a great article in it called "Usability Enhancements for STK" that has even more details. Victor and I will be in Huntsville next week for the Space and Missile Defense Conference, so stop by and see us in the South Hall, booth #S125. Victor and I will be on hand to answer any questions you might have about the UC, STK 9, or how you can use AGI software for Missile Defense applications (we’ll even hook you up with awesome limited-edition UC shirts). See you soon! Till next time!

Rocket Girl (aka Amanda)