Attending the Higher Orbits Alumni Rendezvous has truly been an eye opening experience for me. From the presentations to the stellar soirée to the scavenger hunt everyone was rushing to complete— this event reinforced the idea that Higher Orbits is truly a community built out of everything that is both inspiring and aspiring. Our time in Chicago deepened my appreciation for what our SpaceMom has built: Higher Orbits is not just Go For Launch!, and Go For Launch! isn’t just a program—it is a legacy. A legacy I now share with every SpaceKid whose out-of-this-world dreams now feel possible.
Reflecting on its 10-year history, I just realized that I am probably one of the youngest SpaceKids to have been around. Although I didn’t join my first official Go For Launch! until last year, I was practically involved with Higher Orbits since I was 9 (4th grade), tailing my then 12 year old sister in her first Go For Launch! back in January, 2019. It was my first time meeting SpaceMom and Astronaut Don Thomas. Little did I know that such an encounter would leave quite an impression on me. In 4th grade, I was so into botany and marine biology that I thought my interests were so “earthly” I might not be cut out for space. Nevertheless, I kept tagging along my sister’s Higher Orbits adventures which brought us to her Tardigrades project in Arlington, her rocket launch in New Mexico, doing Space-At-Home together during Covid, cheering the Higher Orbits team in Australia, and the closest event I considered “my thing” was the Art in Space contest which I won through a collab between Higher Orbits & Space Perspective. I remember SpaceMom asking every time she saw me, “So Ava, when are you going to join us at Go For Launch!”
Truth be told, I was fighting the urge to join Go For Launch! at first because I thought my interests didn’t really qualify as spacey. While I loved science, I just knew I didn’t have my sister’s engineering skills or extensive space knowledge. Until the summer of 2025. I had just turned 16 and what better way to celebrate than to challenge myself to do something out of this world, so I signed up for the Amazon-Leo sponsored Go For Launch! event in Arlington. I wasn't expecting much as far as winning, I just wanted to go to DC, meet an astronaut (Astro Toni Antonelli) and scientist Dr. Tara Ruttley, both of whom I’ve heard so many great things from my sister & mom who have met them a few times. Armed with only my keen but unlikely interest in studying rust-eating bacteria in space, I never thought my all-girl team would actually impress the judges. And with that win, the rest is history. I have officially become a bonafide “space kid”—hook, line, and sinker.
And that is how Higher Orbits becomes so much a part of you and who you want to be. You get sucked into this vortex of inspiration, so much so you embrace that part of you that you never knew existed, and the realization dawns on how you probably have so much to offer the world. And when you get in that vortex, you start aligning with people you aspire to be because finally, you are part of this incredible community of learners, dreamers, encouragers, and doers. All of a sudden, you see the world and space come together with endless possibilities, because how cool is it that your idea could change the world and beyond? When you’ve stood before astronauts and scientists, and subject matter experts, who told you your ideas are out of this world amazing, you just instantly grow 10 inches taller and feel like anything and everything is possible. In essence, this is what Higher Orbits meant to me and I will always be grateful for it.
Back to the Rendezvous, it was such an opportune time to get to meet all the other space kids from all over the country! Everyone had stories to tell, many “OMG I can’t believe we finally met-moments”, and a network of friendships that sprouted out in a matter of 3 days. It truly was one for the books and I am so glad to be part of it!
I would say that one of my favorite moments was when you just walk into a room or sat at a table and it turns into story time with astronauts like it’s no big deal (Because I am screaming with disbelief inside). It reminded me of that time when I went on a tour at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and right out in the lobby at the astronaut training center was a giant photo of Astronaut Tony Antonelli and I “casually” said, “Look mom, it’s Astro Tony, my mentor!” While everyone in our tour group gasped and said, “You know him?” Wait til they hear about how I had lunch with Astronaut Dottie and asking her a million gazillion questions, or helped Astronaut Don pick which ice cream flavor to try, or climbed the Sky deck with Astronaut Wendy, perhaps looking at a space shuttle display at the museum beside Astronaut Kate. It sure was a surreal experience. But that’s what Higher Orbits does, it brings you up close and personal with the very people who inspire you.
And not just astronauts, we also had the opportunity of a lifetime to meet and learn from those who worked in the space program from a NASA food scientist Vickie Kloeris to a former NASA biologist who now heads Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef program, Dr. Tara Ruttley, to a space journalist and even a retired Navy general! I was definitely star-struck taking mental notes of everything they shared with us through their work experiences and even their personal journeys.
But of course, the ultimate highlight of the whole event (other than the Ice Cream museum and Sky Deck escapades) was the celebration itself at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, celebrating what Higher Orbits meant to each of us and how that impacted the trajectory of each of our journeys ahead. Truly, Ms. Michelle has built such an incredible community that we are all grateful for and proud to be part of. So thank you, SpaceMom and the Higher Orbits crew, for putting together this fantastic soirée and making sure that we will have the most epic back-to-school stories to tell! Most of all, thank you for this space family that will always be home to all of us who have come to understand why Space inspires. May this gathering be the first of many, many more celebrations to come!
Written by Ava Crowder