So now you are wondering what in the world, or in this case what out of the world, is Higher Orbits flying on Mission Possible with The Exploration Company.
(Oh and in case you are coming in mid-story… let me suggest you check out the first blog about this space adventure we are embarking on here!)
The space for us to use is passive and anything that is part of our payload was going to have to be delivered many months in advance and as any launch goes, you never know for sure when a launch is going to happen until, as I tell the students, the engines actually light! So we had to keep all of that in mind….
I came up with the idea to have a 3D printed box the max size of our space allocation and have it done in black so it would look great with the Higher Orbits logo on it. Thanks to the incredible Jeff Herold (who is an astronomically amazing supporter of our organization) this thought became a real thing! Then came the fun, and challenge!, of determining how to fill this to maximize its small volume, and to do all the things we wanted to do. So what did we want to do??
Well, to start with, we wanted to take this opportunity to give opportunity to our stellar students to have items flown to space. To have something flown in space is a special thing and to have something flown on space on a new vehicle adds to the cool factor! We offered an opportunity for the students who have been part of our programs to share an essay for a chance to have their photograph physically flown to space. We had many students submit their writings and we were thrilled to have so many of them take to heart our mantra of – You Can’t Get It If You Don’t Apply! It was difficult to select only 1, in fact, we couldn’t do it! So we selected 3! We are out of this world excited to fly a photo (of their choosing) for each of the following stellar students...
Valentina Guillen Pacheco of Florida
Ben Santos of Colorado
Naomi Keltner of Arizona
These are the photos that the students have chosen to fly aboard the spacecraft for Mission Possible. Upon the return a special certificate will be created for the students to certify that their photo did indeed fly in space!
We could tell you much more about each of these students but we don’t want to steal their thunder… we will be sharing their blogs in the coming days for you to enjoy!
We also wanted to fly some Higher Orbits items that can be gifted for outstanding achievements to the students who are in our orbit so we have a variety of items that fit into that category.
I love sparkles… what can I say… I do! And I am unashamed about this! I love things that sparkle like the stars so we are also flying a variety of sparkly crystals that we are going to find a way to make into jewelry that has been flown in space that will be available for individuals to purchase to celebrate the out of this world achievements of their loved ones. (All money raised will of course support Higher Orbits! And first dibs will be given to those who are part of our cosmic community. But I will admit, it will take a little bit of time for us to pull these together… but we will!)
We also wanted to find a way to engage our supporters with an opportunity to support Higher Orbits and have their business card or a photo flown to space. We did an auction that we were grateful to have many people interested in which resulted in 2 out of this world wonderful supporters of Higher Orbits winning the opportunity to have their item physically flown to space.
Mark Keough comes from a family of teachers and values the importance of education. He is a long-time STEM advocate and a member of the Space Tango Board of Directors. Space Tango is dedicated to utilizing the unique environment of microgravity to discover, design, and manufacture solutions that benefit life on Earth. Through its innovative platform, Space Tango offers research and manufacturing services to a broad range of industries, including biopharma, materials science, and technology development.
Tom Stugmyer – Tom is a long-time supporter of Higher Orbits and a former Board of Directors member for the organization. He is a Wadsworth, OH native and was essential in making the 2 Go For Launch! Wadsworth events possible. Tom is still an active volunteer who supports Higher Orbits.
Tom shares, “I am so proud to support the mission of Higher Orbits. The STEM opportunities and leadership skills that Higher Orbits places in the hands of students are most certainly out of this world!”
We are galactically grateful for Mark & Tom’s support and we are overjoyed to have them as part of this mission with us!
So right about now maybe you’re thinking, hey ‘chelle, none of this is unexpected… you’re right… here’s the…
But Wait! There’s More Moment …
And yes you will have to tune in for a 3rd blog for that reveal.
(Hey I gotta keep ya coming back somehow. 😉 Ha!
Also there’s only so much bandwidth at a time to write in between all the events going on all over the place! So stick with me and thanks for your patience!)
