News Release: Local Student Graduates from Space Camp

Huntsville, AL – Zachary Hodges of Cape Girardeau, MO recently attended Space Academy at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, home of Space Camp®, Space Camp® Robotics™, Aviation Challenge®, U.S. Cyber Camp® and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s Official Visitor Center.

The weeklong educational program promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while training students and with hands-on activities and missions based on teamwork, leadership and problem solving.

This program is specifically designed for trainees who have a passion for space exploration. Zachary spent the week training with a team that flew a simulated space mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the Moon or Mars. The crew participated in experiments and successfully completed an extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalk. Zachary and crew returned to earth in time to graduate with honors.

Space Camp operates year-round in Huntsville, Alabama, and uses astronaut training techniques to engage trainees in real-world applications of STEM subjects. Students sleep in quarters designed to resemble the ISS and train in simulators like those used by NASA.

More than 850,000 trainees have graduated from a Space Camp® program since its inception in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1982, including European Space Agency astronaut, Samantha Cristoforetti and NASA astronauts Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, Dr. Kate Rubins, Dr. Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Christina Koch, who is serving onboard the International Space Station. Children and teachers from all 50 states and almost 150 international locations have attended a Space Camp® program.

Interested in training like an astronaut? Visit www.spacecamp.com or call 1-800-637-7223.

Media contact: Margie Phillips, margie.phillips@spacecamp.com, 256-721-5432

About U.S. Space & Rocket Center

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is home to Space Camp® and Aviation Challenge®, the Apollo 16 capsule, the National Historic Landmark Saturn V rocket and world-class traveling exhibits. USSRC is the Official Visitor Center for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and a showcase for national defense technologies developed at the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal.

To learn more about the exciting programs and activities at the USSRC, go to www.rocketcenter.com.

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