NASA Advanced Space Academy

Thursday, 14th September 2023 at 2:50pm

To Infinity and Beyond!

Benji Godsmark (Year 10) has recently completed an intense curriculum in space exploration at the NASA Advanced Space Academy in Huntsville, Alabama USA.

Held at the US Space and Rocket Center, Benji took part in aerospace technology, leadership, and team-building skills applicable to the nation's space and rocketry programmes.

Benji took part in practical astronaut training exercises, including M.A.T (Multi Access Training) to simulate re-entering into Earth's atmosphere. M.A.T tests astronauts to see how fast they can stabilise the capsule/pod as it returns to earth - ensuring astronauts are used to the conditions (and don't pass out)!

Scuba Diving can be daunting at the best of times - especially for the first time, however, this experience of weightlessness was all par for the course for Benji to feel what gravity is like in space.

Benji says one of the highlights of Space Camp was meeting Astronaut Dr. Lawrence "Larry" DeLucas, the former chief scientist of the International Space Station, who went up in the space shuttle Columbia before it was later involved in a fatal accident.

Now with his feet firmly back on the ground, Benji is looking forward to following a career path involving physics and space science and keeping in touch with friends and contacts with similar interests.