World Space Expo wrap-up

The 2007 World Space Expo at the Kennedy Space Center was a huge success! Thousands of people came out Nov 1-4 to see unique exhibits, special guest speakers, and an incredible air show.

The education program brought in 2700 teachers and students from across Florida for a day of educational activities and presentations including:

• NASA: Science on the Frontier by Jim Garvin, former NASA Chief Scientist
• a ride on the new Shuttle Launch Experience simulator
• Live Science demonstrations by the Educator Resource Center
• NOAA's Science on a Sphere
• Expo pavillions for NASA, Human Spaceflight and Commercial Space
• Aerospace Career Panels showcasing the diversity of engineers, scientists, and technicians that work at KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
  

An additional 300 local Girl Scouts came out on Friday to see the "Pioneering Women of Aerospace", a forum where six women from different aerospace fields described their path to success. Participating in the event were:

• Patty Grace Smith, Associate Administrator for the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation
• Kathy Sullivan, First Female Spacewalker
• Eileen Collins, First Female Mission Commander at NASA
  
• Anousheh Ansari, First Female Private Spaceflight Participant
• Maj. Nicole Malachowski, First Female Pilot for the USAF Thunderbirds
• Maj. Samantha Weeks, First Female Solo Pilot for the USAF Thunderbirds

Especially cool was the historic first flight of a female Shuttle Commander and the first female ISS Commander! Overall, a good week for showcasing the empowerment of women.

After putting on the education program and helping the Girl Scouts, we were pooped! Jen and Robert came out both Thursday and Friday to volunteer for the education program and made a WORLD of difference. Thanks to all of our great volunteers!!

As a 'thank you' for all of the hard work we put into the Expo, We I was treated to some VIP passes for the airshow on Saturday and Sunday. I got tickets for the airshow and let Dad and Uncle Tommie go out on Saturday. They took Tommie's grandson and had a great time! On Sunday Jen and I went with Mom, Robert, Teresa, our family friend John, and one of Mom's new co-workers, Charlie, and his wife. What a group! The aerial demonstrations were amazing and really showed the capabilities of our military. If you ever, ever, get to see an F-22 Raptor demonstration you MUST GO. It is unbelievable. Trust me, GO. In the mean time, check out our airshow pictures here.