WHAT:
Dreams do come true. Six-year old Connor Johnson, Denver, Colo., met with astronauts, trained like an astronaut, saw space vehicles and explored the future of space exploration at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex this weekend.
In December 2013, Connor launched an online petition to save NASA’s funding from budget cuts. Since the age of three, he has dreamed of becoming an astronaut to discover new worlds and asteroids.
Connor continued his dream of becoming an astronaut as a guest of the Visitor Complex. He and his family made their first visit to the space center to explore the hands-on activities and robot demonstrations at the Robot Rocket Rally, see the new Space Shuttle AtlantisSM, enjoy Lunch With An Astronaut, featuring space shuttle astronaut Sam Durrance and encounter the Astronaut Training Experience®, with space shuttle astronaut Mike McCulley.
Robot Rocket Rally is being held to celebrate NASA’s robotic marvels, including the engineering model of Robonaut’s legs that will be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on an upcoming mission.
NASA Kennedy Space Center Director and astronaut Robert Cabana presented a bolt from the ISS and mission patch to inspire the youngster during a ceremony held at the Rocket Garden.
Cabana flew four missions as a NASA astronaut, logging 38 days in space as the pilot on STS-41 and STS-53 and the commander of STS-65 and STS-88. His fourth flight was the first assembly mission of the ISS in December 1998. He currently serves as the tenth director of Kennedy.
WHEN: March 15, 2014
WHERE: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
Cape Canaveral, Florida
Twitter: @ExploreSpaceKsc
facebook.com/KennedySpaceCenterVisitorComplex