2001 Astronaut Scholar Annual Meeting
The sixth annual Astronaut Scholar Meeting was held on May 10–13, 2001. Approximately 30 scholars and guests attended. The group met each other for the first time at the annual meeting of the Astronaut Scholars Honor Society, held in the Cupcake Room of the Gingerbread House at Give Kids the World Village. Attendees included current scholars, alumni, and guests.
During the meeting, scholars were introduced to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) and Astronaut Scholars Honor Society (ASHS) and given some history of the organizations as well as an overview of their goals and mission. Following the presentation, each scholar spoke for a few moments about their area of scientific or engineering work, research, and study. There was an impressive and diverse range of specialties represented within the group. The meeting wrapped up with a tour of the Give Kids the World Village so that scholars could see the incredible work going on in this charity.
The next day was spent at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, where VIP tours were given at both facilities. Charlie Buckley, former chief of security at KSC, served as our tour guide and relayed many stories from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle programs. Charlie was in charge of security at KSC from the late 1950's until after the first Space Shuttle flight. His insights enhance the tour greatly! We gained access to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF), launch pad access road, International Space Station preparation area, Apollo Saturn V building, U.S. Air Force Museum (outdoor rocket display), and many other highly restricted areas.
There was an additional unique event — a chance to see a satellite being prepared for launch. This opportunity was arranged by Derek Lang, an Astronaut Scholar alumnus from the University of Washington, who is now employed by Space Systems/Loral.
On Saturday, the scholars and their guests were treated to lunch with the astronauts at the Peabody Hotel. Each astronaut and each scholar was introduced, and the group had time to mingle with each other. Many of the scholars met their heroes for the first time!
In addition to all of the planned events, the Astronaut Scholars spent each evening together, enjoying dinners at Adobe Gila's and Pastamore, and visiting several night clubs at the Universal Orlando CityWalk entertainment complex. By the end of the four-day event, all of the scholars had made new and lasting friendships.
The annual event has created an alumni group of scholars who remain active in the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation for many years after they finish their education. This is quite rare among scholarship organizations and will be a key to our success in the future. We have several scholars who are now active in planning and organizing the annual event, publication of the newsletter, designing and maintaining our web sites, and other volunteer activities. As we continue having events from year to year, we are experiencing an increase in the involvement of our scholars.
If you are a scholar who has not yet attended one of our annual events, please consider coming in the future. You will not regret it!