Source: Benjamin Thacker / Benjamin Thacker
Solo: A Star Wars Story might have just inspired the next generation of American astronauts or NASA engineers.
This past Sunday, students from Black Girls Code & Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals were treated to a private tour of The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The fantastic experience was hosted by SOLO: A Star Wars Story, Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Studios and was also put together in celebration of the films opening weekend.
The tour kicked off in the NASA Now exhibit where 22-year-old Boeing Engineer, Tiera Fletcher spoke to the group of enthusiastic kids about Aerospace Engineering, and it’s importance to launching rockets. She followed her presentation by opening the floor for a brief Q&A cause we are sure the group was just full of questions.
The guests were treated to lunch before embarking on a 2-hour of the complex. Activities included watching a Space Shuttle Atlantis video followed by a walk and talk down the orbiter with Tiera and Kennedy Space Center Communicator, Paul Regencia. To get a feel what it’s like to live on the International Space Station, students crawled through a scale model of it. They then “landed” their own Atlantis Space Shuttle by sliding all the way down to the first floor. The slide itself was placed at a 22-degree angle which is the same angle the space shuttle returns to Earth when landing.
Immediately after that, they visited the Astronaut Training Experience. There, Scott Parazynski, a five-time space shuttle astronaut tested the student’s skills in the “Land and Drive on Mars” simulator, the Walk on Mars virtual reality and the Microgravity.
The experience ended with Tiera speaking with the group and expressing the importance of coding. The students were treated with goodie bags from The Kennedy Space Center, and Disney blessed them with Han Solo’s dice, and a pair of Fandango passes to see SOLO: A Star Wars Story. Their day ended at Walt Disney World to participate in an unforgettable Galactic Nights experience!
Talk about day those kids will never forget. Check out the gallery below to see photos from the entire experience and if you haven’t already go see SOLO: A Star Wars Story in theaters now.
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Photos: Benjamin Thacker
