Year 12 student, Andi, is coming back down to earth after a recent two-week scholarship program in the USA that saw him shake hands with astronauts, learn about the intricacies of rocket design, undergo astronaut training and debate space law.
Andi was one of a handful of students globally to take part in this year’s Endeavour Scholarship program. The program was inspired by Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot, Colonel Al Worden, who wanted to encourage young people to develop a passion for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics and explore opportunities to work at NASA.
Earlier this year, after rigorous testing, 34 students from seven countries were finally selected to attend Space Camp at the US Space & Rocket Centre in Alabama.
Andi spent two weeks learning what it takes to get a US space mission off the ground – literally, the complexities of designing spacesuits, the challenging physical tests that astronauts must complete before being ready for lift off and understanding what a career in space medicine involves.
“Space Camp was amazing because I lived and trained like an astronaut for a week. We had lectures on flight physics and space law, did some hands-on training with flight simulators and experienced zero gravity,” says Andi.
“I was lucky enough to shake hands with Charlie Duke – the youngest man to walk on the moon – who spoke to us about the aerospace industry. One of the most interesting facts I learned was that the Space Shuttle doesn’t have any engines when it begins its landing approach. So, it becomes a glider on descent and is endearingly referred to in the space industry as a ‘flying brick’.”
The Endeavour Scholarship students also visited Washington DC to see the Pentagon and the White House and toured Nashville.
For Andi, the scholarship program has encouraged him to pursue university studies in the US after he graduates from Haileybury. He would like to study Law and practice in New York.
“This trip confirmed to me that the USA is the right place for me to study and I’ve realised that space law is an emerging field that I may eventually practice in,” says Andi.
