Staff Reports
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Two local students completed summer space and aviation camps at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.
Kendall Butler of New Palestine and Jett Masters of Greenfield each attended academies at the NASA and Smithsonian-affiliated center.
Butler spent a week at Space Academy, an educational program for those who have a passion for space exploration. He flew a simulated space mission to the International Space Station, participated in experiments and completed a simulated “extra-vehicular activity,” or space walk. Students in space camp sleep in quarters designed to resemble the ISS and train in simulators like those used by NASA.
Masters attended Aviation Challenge Mach III. The program, designed for students who have an interest in military aviation and the mechanics of flight, allows students to learn principles of aviation and put their knowledge to the test in a variety of flight simulators. Taking the role of a fighter pilot, Masters ran control systems and scenario-based missions as well as trained in water and land survival. He even slept in quarters designed to resemble military bays.
Masters, 15, is working to get his commercial license by the time he turns 18 and then attend Purdue University for aviation. He wants to join the Air Force as a test pilot.
Almost 1 million trainees have graduated from a Space Camp program since its inception in 1982. Children and teachers from all 50 states and almost 150 international locations have attended the program.
For more information, visit www.spacecamp.com/aviation.
