June 29, 2023, marked the 10th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). It’s been ten years since the KSC debuted this amazing vehicle. Considering everything that went into securing it and ensuring that the facility could hold it, it’s an amazing feat — the building was built around the space shuttle.
The Kennedy Space Center celebrated this amazing anniversary by inviting five astronauts that flew on the Space Shuttle Atlantis. They were Mike Mullane, Dr. Anna Fisher, William “Bill” Shepherd, Guy Gardner, Mike Baker, and Chris Ferguson (who was on Space Shuttle Atlantis’ last voyage).
Orlando Mom Collective was invited to join the media panel, and I got to represent us. And it was amazing!
After figuring out parking and finally making it to the check-in area, I settled in my seat, waiting for the other media personnel. As a mother of four, I have learned that I am either terrifyingly early or embarrassingly late. And today, I chose early. So, I sat there unsure of what I was doing here and if I was just going to be a guest or if I was going to be able to ask questions. Slowly but surely, other journalists entered, and I felt….underqualified. But it’s OK because I’m a mom of four, so surely I can handle anything. I took a few deep breaths and decided to tell myself what I would tell my daughter, “You got this, Babe!”
And with that mentality, I decided to approach the whole experience confidently and focus on Dr. Anna Fisher. Dr. Anna Fisher is an accomplished astronaut who made significant contributions to the field of space exploration. She is renowned for being the first mother to journey into space, flying as a mission specialist on Space Shuttle Discovery’s STS-51A mission in 1984. During her time aboard the space shuttle, Dr. Fisher’s expertise and scientific prowess were instrumental in conducting various material science, biomedical research, and human physiology experiments.
After the media got to ask their questions, those who wanted a photo of the shuttle were escorted out. That left me and one other journalist behind with the astronauts. Immediately, I went to Dr.Fisher and chatted with her for ten minutes!
I didn’t think I’d be starstruck, but I couldn’t help it. The first mom in space, part of the first group of American women in space, she is a force! What was wonderful during our conversation was how down-to-earth she was (funny enough). I asked her, “What do your children say about you? How has your being an astronaut impacted their look on life?” And she just laughed! She laughed and replied, “Oh, my girls were unimpressed by their father and me as astronauts. It was normal in their world.”
And how relatable is that? It doesn’t matter if you’re a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, a celebrity, or a freaking astronaut, our children will never be impressed by us, “Unless they need something,” Dr. Anna Fisher shared, “like when they got older and needed to me to be around to talk about my mission. Then I was relevant to them.” And how true is that? We’re only important to our children when they deem us useful. Otherways, we’re ignored and an inconvenience to their social calendar.
What I loved the most about today was how much each astronaut mentioned they wanted more space programs for children. Out of the six of them, four said they knew they wanted to be astronauts by the age of 12. All of them said they wanted to be astronauts when they witnessed one of the space shuttle or satellite expeditions go off into space. The most heartwarming story was when Guy Gardner shared his story of realization, “I was sitting in the space shuttle on Mission STS-35, and I was looking down on earth on our way back, and I was able to see New Mexico where I grew up,” recalls Gardner, “and I was looking down, I remember being a young kid looking up at the sky and seeing Sputnik and thinking, ‘I’m going to be on a space ship one day.’ So, looking down and seeing New Mexico and the desert that was probably near my home was a nice full-circle moment for me.”
Every single astronaut had a lovely and vivid memory of being a child and looking up at the sky, aspiring to be an astronaut. They were adamant that dreams do come true, and they’re happy that space science is becoming more readily available to more and more children. Each of them is part of an organization for children and space. Many of them work with KSC to help raise funds for events.
The Kennedy Space Center constantly hosts paid and unpaid events — they try to make it as available as possible. That was a big topic for KSC and the astronauts; they want space education to be more inclusive regardless of financial situation, race, or nationality. What was wonderful was that Dr. Anna Fisher recently participated in an afternoon tea paid event showcasing women in Space hosted by KSC to promote more women in science. And today’s event, celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Space Shuttle Atlantis at KSC, was a part of the general admission ticket.
Events like these show a promising future for children wanting to learn more about space. When I spoke to Dr. Anna Fisher, she really drove home that there are so many types of jobs you can do related to space, from being a lawyer to a doctor (like her), to a chemist (also like her), engineer, mechanic, astronaut (her again!), pilot, teacher, etc. The possibilities are endless.
The Kennedy Space Center has a robust events calendar for the rest of the summer. They have astronauts in residence every so often. They currently have a scavenger hunt; they will be celebrating the 4th of July (for more July 4th activities in Central Florida, check out our guide), they will have Women in Space Wednesday each Wednesday for the rest of the summer, and so much more! From rockets blasting off to meeting real-life astronauts, KSC has it all. And there’s something for all ages.
I’ll admit; I went today simply to represent OMC but also for my son. His dream is to become an aerospace engineer. I shared with Dr. Fisher how his middle name is Naos, the blue star part of the Argo Navis constellation, and she said, “Maybe it’s telling of his future, and he’ll be a part of NASA. He needs to keep up his grade, though!”
Today was a true testament to what we can do as humans, but I couldn’t help looking at the crowd and seeing the number of kids huddled with their parents and their parents looking on in admiration at the astronauts. None of them could’ve been up there today without their parents’ support, and I plan to be that for my son.
At the end of the panel, the moderator asked the astronauts for one last thought, and William Shepherd’s was my favorite: “If you can dream it, you can accomplish it.”
