Higher Orbits Galactic HQ – June 6, 2024  - Higher Orbits is bringing its flagship program, Go For Launch! back to Rocket City, USA to help inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Held at Redstone Federal Credit Union in Huntsville, AL, students in grades 8-12 will participate in space-based group activities that are designed to help them develop critical skills needed for success in their future careers.   

On June 17-18, students will have the opportunity to work with a featured astronaut and other aerospace professionals as they design a spaceflight experiment that could fly to the International Space Station. This unique opportunity offers students the chance to learn through mentorship and in group settings.  

Retired NASA astronaut Tony Antonelli will be the featured astronaut at this event. Antonelli flew on multiple space shuttle missions for NASA and believes mentorship and working with students is part of what makes these opportunities so rewarding.  

"Huntsville is like a second home to me, so I'm incredibly excited to participate in Go For Launch! Huntsville and share my experiences of getting to fly to space with the students," Antonelli said. "Go For Launch! is the perfect place to combine creativity with an interest in STEM, and I'm also looking forward to seeing what kind of experiments they come up with."  

Go For Launch! is the hands-on flagship program of Higher Orbits, a non-profit that aims to encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The program is designed for students of all backgrounds—from the STEM novice to the more experienced—with the hopes of helping ALL students gain the skills and confidence necessary to enter the workforce as the STEMists and Explorers of the future.  

The students work with industry professionals on teamwork, communication, research design, and leadership skills. While focusing on spaceflight, Go For Launch! students have the chance to work alongside a featured astronaut at each event to learn and develop important skills that can be applied in any professional field.  

"It's great to be heading back to Huntsville," said Michelle Lucas, founder and CEO of Higher Orbits. "We run this program all across the country, offering kids the opportunity to visit places, like Huntsville, that they normally wouldn't have access to. We're trying to show them that being a geeky kid who loves space and science is not only cool, it opens doors."  

Go For Launch! participants not only have access to incredible mentors, they also have the opportunity to compete to design an experiment that could fly to the International Space Station.   

One lucky team will be selected as the winner of the Go For Launch! Huntsville event. Their team's experiment will then further compete against winning experiments selected from other Higher Orbits 2024 series events, which includes events in Cape Canaveral, FL and Mars, PA, among others. Space Tango, a Higher Orbits partner, will then build the overall winner's experiment, which will launch on a future cargo mission to the International Space Station.   

Go For Launch! Huntsville is open to students in grades 8-12 (including rising 8th graders and recently graduated seniors) from anywhere and is not restricted to only those residing in Alabama. Running June 17-18, 2024, Go For Launch! Huntsville will be held at Redstone Federal Credit Union. Interested students can register online at www.GoForLaunch.space. Financial aid is available to students who need assistance to attend this event.  

Go For Launch! Huntsville is generously supported by the following sponsors: Stellar Sojourners Jacobs and Redstone Federal Credit Union; Pluto Pioneers Trideum, Lunar Rovers Institute For Digital Enterprise Advancement and Yulista; and Intergalactic Voyagers A-B Emblem, Uniphi Space Agency, Space Tango, and Space Shirts. All Go For Launch! Events are supported by the IDEA Space Coalition which is supported by Burns & McDonnell, Iridium, and Ridgeline International.

Higher Orbits is truly honored to work with many communities, companies, and individuals. It's through these partnerships that the organization is able to inspire the next generation of STEMists and explorers—the future workforce of our country.  

Founded in 2015, Higher Orbits is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization creating an experiential learning lab for secondary school students across the United States, focused on the multi-faceted worlds of space exploration, research, and spaceflight in order to launch the next generation workforce our world desires. www.higherorbits.org  

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