This weekend the “From STEM to the Stars” event, hosted by NASA, Blue Origin, Blue Origin’s Club for the Future, and the National Math and Science Initiative (NSMI), inspired young students and adults alike with a panel of former and current NASA astronauts, representatives from Blue Origin, and a chance to go inside a replica of Blue Origin’s New Shepard Crew Capsule.
Representatives from RTX — formerly Raytheon Technologies — Real Men Teach, and the NAACP were also present at the event.
From kickoff at 11 am on Friday in Oak Bluffs’ Waban/Alley Park, spirits were high, and there was a near-continuous line of parents and kids queued up to tour the New Shepard.
There was clear camaraderie among the astronauts, all dressed in the iconic blue suits, and all members of a select group of African Americans who have been to space, as they addressed the crowd Friday. A robust sound system at the event provided upbeat “walk-on” music for each speaker as they took the podium, using songs with space themes or lyrics.
Former NASA astronaut and physician Dr. Bernard Harris Jr. opened the event by welcoming the audience and giving a brief overview of the day ahead, which consisted of several panels and opportunities for kids and families to engage with the astronauts and to ask questions.
Harris, the organizing power behind the event, said he was first introduced to the Island by his wife, who bought a house in Oak Bluffs 14 years ago. After stepping foot on the Island, he said, he fell in love, and knew he’d be back for years to come. He said he has been wanting to provide an educational program to the Island community for years.
Harris commented on the novelty of space, astronauts, and the future for the Vineyard, in contradiction to the Island steeped in pastoral traditions and histories. “When’s the last time you’ve seen an astronaut on Martha’s Vineyard?” Harris asked.
“When you come here, you don’t normally talk about space; you don’t normally talk about the future or where that’s headed. So I called upon some of my friends, fellow astronauts, and I said, ‘Come help me with this mission,’ to expose young people to math and science and to where we as a society are heading in the future,” which is, the event insists, to space.
Harris is the founder of the Harris Foundation, a charity organization that works to help students from all backgrounds access quality education and social integration, as well as providing resources and support for teachers. Inspiring the next generation is one of Harris’ central missions, now. “As astronauts, the opportunity is provided to us to speak to different groups around the country,” he said of his unique role to inspire the country’s youth.
He promoted “the diversity of this Island” as a strength, making it a perfect community to educate and sow seeds of inspiration for young people of all backgrounds and walks of life to enter the growing space industry. Representation was a key point of the day’s events, with all speakers emphasizing the importance of diversity and equal representation.
“I wanted to create a program that could access those communities, the Black and brown communities, the white communities, the Asian communities, all the communities that come here … to emphasize one main point, that STEM education will prepare our communities, our kids, for a future that is incredible,” said Harris. He says this future is coming fast. “I want our kids to be prepared for the future that’s coming up very shortly. We’re going to have a permanent presence in low Earth orbit, and then a permanent presence on the Moon.”
Harris has been doing his part to “fill the gap” in STEM education for the past 30 years, through the Harris Foundation and other outreach events. “Our education system needs a lot of help. And I believe that help should come from the community,” he said.
The panel topics of the day included conversations with representatives from RTX and aerospace technology companies, STEM education, and the future of commercial space flight.
One “fireside chat” panel consisted of a conversation between prodigal pilot-in-training and aspiring astronaut 15-year-old Connor Clinkscale, and current NASA astronaut Victor J. Glover, whom Clinkscale named as his biggest inspiration to pursue a career in the field. Clinkscale said he knew from about age 3 that he wanted to be a pilot, after touring the Johnson Space Center with his parents. According to Clinkscale, he asked if he would be able to fly one of the spaceships one day, and his parents told him if he went to flight school, then he could. Clinkscale began flight lessons at 3½ years old, and intends to obtain his pilot’s license when he turns 16.
During the RTX panel, Harris spoke with Earl Exum of Pratt Whitney/RTX and Eric Hernandez of RTX about the outreach mission of the event, and what space companies are doing to improve representation for different races and genders. Exum spoke of a “Paradigm for Parity” program that aimed to achieve 50 percent female leadership. “We need more women in aviation and in aerospace defense,” said Exum. Exum also spoke to the goal of the event, inspiring young people to want to work in space.
“The look in their eyes and the smiles on their faces, it makes us feel good at RTX,” said Exum of the young people in attendance. He spoke of the importance of having as many people as possible enter the workforce. “It is not easy to find the brainpower that we need for the sophisticated things that we do,” said Exum. “We push the absolute limits of technology, and to do that you need every bright mind available.”
“We could do more if we had more minds,” Exum said.
Harris introduced the education panel as consisting of his “family and friends,” who are part of the mission spreading the word for the need for math and science education. On a STEM education panel, moderated by astronaut Leland Melvin, were Curtis Valentine, co-director at Progressive Policy Institute and founder at Real Men Teach; Dr. Niccole Bruno, CEO at BLEND; Dr. Kristal Moore Clemons, national director at Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools; and Charlene Russell-Tucker, commissioner of education at Connecticut State Department of Education.
On “The Astronaut Experience” panel were former astronauts Harris, Leland Melvin, Charlie Bolden, Joan Higginbotham, and Robert Satcher, and current astronaut Victor J. Glover, who is preparing to become the first African American man to pilot a spacecraft to the moon.
The final panel of the day was hosted by Blue Origin and its nonprofit organization, Club for the Future, moderated by the president of Blue Origin’s Club for the Future, Michael Edmonds. Panelists included 89-year-old former test pilot Ed Dwight; attorney, aerospace engineer, and vice president of mission & flight operations at Blue Origin Audrey Powers; and senior vice president of Blue Origin’s new Glenn heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle Jarrett Jones. The panel focused on the importance of building a diverse space workforce, and on the new commercial space flight domain, which Powers emphasized is “for everyone,” not just scientists and astronauts. Edmonds opened the conversation to questions from kids in the audience. Kids’ questions included things like, “Has there ever been a monkey that went to space?” (Yes.) And, “Can a kid go to space?” (No.)
Camilla Jordan, 9, from New London, Conn., just after going inside the New Shepard, said, “It was pretty cool. Tight, but pretty cool,” commenting on the close quarters of the capsule. When asked what she learned from the event, Camilla said she learned that astronauts would be able to control space capsules with just a computer.
Jonathan Truesdale, father of Jillian, 9, and Miles, 5, was appreciative of the opportunities of the day. “This is very important, and it’s an amazing event,” he said. Truedale sees STEM as the future. Both of his kids said they were interested in science, and that science and math were their favorite subjects in school. Miles said he liked seeing the astronauts.
“We’re excited about it,” said Truesdale.
This sense of interest and excitement is part of the aim at Club for the Future, says the club’s president, Michael Edmonds, who is also senior vice president of strategy, marketing, and sales at Blue Origin.
“Club for the Future tries to engage the next generation,” Edmonds told the Times. One of the ways the Club does so is via their Postcards to Space project. “Any human on the planet can send us postcards to fly to space,” said Edmonds, which are then returned to the original sender. He spoke about the power of space to motivate and mobilize young people. “If you’ve ever seen a cynical teenager, if you start to talk about space … it inspires,” he said.
Edmonds said the event was a great success, praising the Island community that showed up in support of the event. “This has been a phenomenal few days here. I am so inspired by the way this community embraces STEM,” he said. “They’re here on a wonderful, glorious day talking about math and science and space; I think that’s a profound testament to the people who live here.”
According to Edmonds, Blue Origin’s mission is to reduce the cost of access to space resources, like water, energy, and other minerals, “for the benefit of Earth.”
“If we can make it cost-affordable to go get water or energy or any mineral from space, we can use that to preserve the planet for future generations,” Edmonds says. The Club for the Future mission is to make sure the next generation is ready to take over the mission. And according to the experts at “From STEM to the Stars,” the future is coming on fast.
“We are a space-faring people,” said Harris. “Whether you go into space or not, you’re going to be impacted by space.”
The event concluded on Saturday with a 3 pm screening of “The Color of Space” at the Strand Theater in Oak Bluffs.
