Stella Abel dreamed of becoming an astronaut. In 2018, she attended Space Camp and by appearances, the active, likable teen with slight build and blue hair had a world of opportunities to explore. When she died by suicide, it stunned her family and friends. One very special friend, 16-year-old Kaden Legron, was deeply impacted and moved to action. “I run a mental health and suicide awareness booth in Ohio. My goal is to raise awareness to a cause that is not spoken about enough.” He sometimes reminds visitors to his booth, “Having someone be nice to you can make all the difference.”  Your Space Matters is Kaden’s booth and Facebook.

Kaden, Stella’s family, and the Union County Ohio Community Foundation, deemed a Space Camp scholarship an ideal way to honor and embrace Stella’s memory.

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“Larger than life,” was the ready description of H.M. “Mike” Adams of Milton, West Virginia. A prodigious businessman, he was known for his seven Adams Hallmark stores operating across the state, as well as Adams Printing and Supply which opened in 1964. For family, friends and others in the community, Mike was also known for his kindness and skillful, 18-years of service as recorder for the City of Milton. At the Milton Baptist Church, he served as deacon and was a member of the choir. His love and compassion for others makes this scholarship, which provides camp tuition for a student living in West Virginia, especially meaningful to his family.

Mike Adams passed away in October 2021.

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The Dr. Deborah Edwards Barnhart endowed tribute scholarship salutes her outstanding service to the Rocket Center and Space Camp. Retiring at the end of 2019, Dr. Barnhart, as the center’s chief executive for nine years, oversaw a financial turnaround at the center that resulted in an 89 percent increase in gross revenue and record-setting Space Camp and museum attendance. Her legacy is one of far-reaching vision and a passion for inspiring the next generation of explorers. This fitting tribute prepares future engineers, scientists and astronauts, and carries on Dr. Barnhart’s tradition of excellence and achievement.

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Chris Bean was a mission control flight engineer for the Space Shuttle program and a design team member for Boeing's next generation space vehicle. Chris grew up in south Alabama and attained bachelor and masters degrees in aerospace engineering from Auburn University. He enjoyed visiting science classes of young students and loved showing them how they could apply what they learned in class to the exploration of the universe. Chris was also an avid traveler and adventurer; he loved hiking the world's backcountry to experience the unspoiled beauty of God's creation that most others never see. Whether climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or running with the bulls in Pamplona, he lived life to the fullest. His exuberant spirit, selflessness, and love for life have been an inspiration to many. After passing away in June of 2012, his family and friends set up this scholarship in his memory to spread his passions for science, travel, and space exploration to future scientists and engineers.

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Glen Beatty embarked on his engineering career in 1985, following his graduation with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arkansas. Later, he earned a Master of Business Administration from the Florida Institute of Technology. Glen dedicated over 31 years of his professional life to the Aerospace Industry, working at McDonnell Douglas and Boeing. During his extensive career, he played pivotal roles in numerous technology initiatives, including Spacelab, SPACEHAB, Ground Based Midcourse Defense, the International Space Station, and the Space Launch System, among many other notable programs.

From a young age, Glen held a profound fascination for the stars and the universe, often found outdoors on clear nights, gazing up at the heavens and enthusiastically identifying constellations to his family. Following Glen's passing, his family established this fund with the aspiration of inspiring the next generation of stargazers to pursue careers in the field of space exploration.

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Fred was founder, owner and chief executive of an international, all-volunteer, 700+ member Google Lunar XPrize team, Team FREDNET, The Open Space Society, Inc. Beginning in 2009, he and his team worked to develop open source technology toward sending a robot to the moon. Fred’s heart was in this work and in the friendships he struck and nurtured across the world.

Though his heart was strong, in December 2016 at age 54, Fred succumbed to carcinoid cancer.

While teacher, physicist, computer geek, southern boy, inventor, cyber security expert, musical composer and performer identify Fred, the words neither fully describe nor capture his spirit like the words of a close colleague. “He was an amazing man. It is extremely rare that a person is both brilliant, yet humble. Optimistic, yet realistic. Creative, yet practical. Quiet, yet bold. Appreciative, yet demanding our best. Gentlemanly, yet powerful. No job was too big for him, yet none too small. No one intimidated him, yet he did not want to intimidate anyone.”

Fred earned undergraduate and advanced degrees from Tulane University.

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Ed Buckbee is vested in the hopes, dreams and realization of America’s manned space flight program. Starting as public relations officer under rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun and later as spokesman for the Mercury astronauts, his aspirations rapidly rose.

Buckbee was tapped by von Braun in 1970 to lead the U. S. Space & Rocket Center. He assembled the world’s largest collection of space hardware and convened the talent to design and execute Space Camp. He still strives to increase awareness of the importance of preparing America’s youth to be leaders in human space exploration.

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From a young age, Tyler loved airplanes, rocketry, spacecraft, innovation and adventure. Raised in rural Nebraska, Tyler eventually lived all over the U.S. Beyond his love of the unknown, he pursued several passions including cooking, gaming, stand-up comedy, fishing, hunting, camping and hiking. His broad understanding of the world and kind heart meant that he could talk with anyone on almost any topic. He made friends easily and nurtured those friendships with care.

A problem-solver and technology aficionado, his greatest point of pride was working for Apple for 11 years. Cancer claimed Tyler much too early with his passing at age 41.

Though he never attended Space Camp as a young boy, two of his fondest memories were visiting the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral and building model rockets with his nephews. This memorial supports others with similar passions and big dreams, regardless of their financial situation. This memorial also salutes Tyler’s recently deceased father, Lee Christensen, who, like his son, would embrace a program helping young imaginations to soar.

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Space Camp is a life-changing experience that uses the excitement of U.S. and international space programs to stimulate children’s interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math). Space Camp not only trains and inspires the next astronauts, engineers, and leaders, it instills confidence, problem-solving, and teamworking skills that are critical to the development of our youth. The powerful difference a Space Camp experience can make has been witnessed first-hand by so many people! This is why a portion of the proceeds from every sale of our SPACE CERTIFIED Space Salsa will go to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation for Space Camp Scholarships. On to Mars!

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David Emil Dimond was born May 16, 1952 in Heidelberg, Germany. He grew up in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York. Dave's love of space began early from the earliest days of the "space race" in the 1960s. The Mercury 7 were his heroes and set the bar for all those who followed in their footsteps. He graduated from Valley Stream Central High School in 1970 and then moved to Manhattan, Kansas (the Little Apple) to attend Kansas State University. He met his future wife, Pat, the first day of their freshman year and married on May 25, 1974, a week after graduation. After living in Illinois and Kansas for a short time, they moved to Boulder County, Colorado. Dave worked in I.T. for several years before retiring in 2019.

The night sky enthralled him, and the constellations were as familiar as his own neighborhood. He taught his three children and four grandchildren to love the night and identify the stars. Dave always knew when the next meteor shower or super moon would occur. He and Pat have a home in the mountains and Dave would spend the nights looking to the heavens to see the Milky Way and shooting stars.

One of the highlights of his life was attending Space Camp in 1987. He was among the first groups of adults to attend and was one of the few, if not only, non-teachers in the class.

Dave passed away on September 3, 2022 of Covid Pneumonia. His granddaughters say they know he's ok because the moon and the stars told them.

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This scholarship targets students at a specific school, Meadow Bridge Elementary in Meadow Bridge, West Virginia. It awards a scholarship to one male and one female student to attend a weeklong Space Camp the summer of their fifth-grade year. Students apply by submitting an essay on what “’Failure Is not an Option’ means to space exploration and my goals.”

This scholarship aims to inspire young minds to dream the impossible, to think differently. It’s not that they won’t fail – everyone does at some point - but they should not give up. We want them to understand that if things were easy, everyone would do them.

Why this school? Meadow Bridge is the birthplace of some who helped put mankind on the moon. These individuals attended schools without computers, the internet or Google, but they had passion, a purpose and a mission. They figured out the rest.

According to the fund’s organizers, this scholarship fund begins with one school, but their long-term goal is to expand to other schools.

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Stanley developed a love for outer space and the stars at a very young age. The unknown always interested him and he would talk to anyone about it that would listen. He was accepted into a college program through his school district at the College Center, for his high school career. This is where he would really start to blossom and would start an astronomy club.

Though the club did not last as long as he would of hope, Stanley’s love for all things space still burned inside of him. After some research and a lot of conversations, Stanley decided he wanted to go to space camp and gain a true understanding of what NASA is. He wanted to be an engineer and design space shuttles.

Unfortunately, Stanley was not able to attend space camp. He left us to go live in the Cosmos March of 2023. This loss shattered our family, but we knew we could not let his death be in vain. In memory of Stanley, we decided to start raising money to give others the chance to do what Stanley so desperately wanted to do, go to space camp. Our goal is to send at least one candidate to space camp a year through fundraisers and donations as long as we are able too with the hopes that it will be a life changing experience for them.

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Paco was the beloved cat of Homer Hickam who lived with him throughout all of Homer's NASA years. He was a sweet cat who always made everyone feel good any time he was around. During Homer's many months away from home to train astronauts, Paco was taken care of by the Paco Support Team (PST) who dearly loved him. One of them was Homer's future wife Linda. During a Spacelab mission, Paco comforted a lonely astronaut while she was in orbit by talking to her and therefore became the first cat to meow in space. Paco passed away when he was 18 years old and is still missed by the PST but all are happy that a young person will attend Space Camp on a scholarship named after this prodigious cat.

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Tommy Holman had an unusual interest in space from a very early age…some might call it a fixation. From the age of three, he knew what he wanted to do, and by the time he was six, so did all who knew him. Tommy wanted to be an astronaut. Unlike most six year olds, he knew what that meant. He knew the vehicles the early astronauts used to explore the heavens. He knew what an astronaut’s mission was, and he knew that he wanted to be one of them. He was a happy, energetic little boy with an insatiable appetite for all things space. Thomas Andrew Holman passed away on February 1, 2004, the first anniversary of the Columbia tragedy.

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Christian developed a love of aviation and the military early in his life. He would often make his own military-style “uniform” out of construction paper and anything else lying around.

When I found out about the U.S. Space and Rocket center’s Aviation Challenge program, I knew it would be something Christian would love. I showed the program to him in late 2012, and he immediately wanted to attend that next summer. It changed him. He came home so excited, having made new friends, and learned valuable lessons in cooperation with others. Christian couldn’t wait to go back the next year. He attended the Mach III Elite program the next 3 years, and always coordinated the dates with the friends he had made. In 2016, after several tries, he and his partner won the coveted “Top Gun” challenge. Christian was very proud of this accomplishment, as they had to come from the bottom to win. This just shows the level of teamwork and commitment that Aviation Challenge instills in their participants.

The last year he could attend was 2016, and he talked about coming back to be a counselor 2 years later. Sadly, he did not make that last goal, as we lost him to suicide in March 2018. He was 19. We created a scholarship fund in his name, and wish to share the joy of Aviation Challenge with others each year. That is why we have set up a memorial scholarship for Aviation Challenge.

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Philip Kitchens’ fascination with space began at the age of six when his father gave him a small telescope that opened the wonders of the universe for a small boy. A native of Louisiana, Phil earned a degree in chemical engineering from Louisiana Tech in 1967. As graduation approached, Phil’s father took him to hear a presentation by Wernher von Braun in Shreveport. Mesmerized by von Braun’s presentation, Phil was able to meet the scientist in person. Hooked on the potential for a career in aerospace, he applied and was accepted to work at NASA as a part of the Apollo team during a period that included both profound tragedy and sublime triumph. Among the missions that Kitchens supported were Apollo 8, the first human astronautic mission to the moon; Apollo 11, the first mission to land humans on the moon; and Apollo 13, the near tragedy that was averted only with creativity and grace. After five years with NASA, Phil earned a library science degree and worked as a librarian at the Redstone Arsenal Technical Library until his retirement in 2003. After retiring, he volunteered his time as a NASA Emeritus Docent at the US Space and Rocket Center, educating and inspiring the many guests and Space Camp that visited the museum until his death in September 2023.

“By encouraging future scientists and engineers, perhaps even in aerospace, I hope to catalyze their occupational paths, each to an eventual personal, individual internal sense of fulfillment.”

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Jack LaFollette graduated from Boone High School in Boone, Iowa in 2013 and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force the same year. Trained as a missile and space systems technician and assigned to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, he became a member of the 91st Missile Maintenance Squadron. Jack later served as a missile handling team chief, routinely leading a team of airmen in the installation and removal of the Minuteman III’s three-stage, 70,000-lb solid rocket motor.

Jack started an internship at the University of Iowa Operator Performance Lab in 2019. In his time at the OPL, Jack acted as a key member of the OPL flight operations team, helping to support dozens of research sorties involving OPL’s fleet of aircraft including two Aero L-29 trainer jets, two Mi-2 Hoplite helicopters, and numerous unmanned aerial vehicles. In addition to his support of flight operations, Jack helped design and run multiple research studies at the lab, took on a key role in fabrication and maintenance, and was quick to lend a helping hand wherever and whenever it was needed.

Jack died on October 28, 2019 from sudden cardiac death at the age of 24. This scholarship fund was created in honor of Jack's love for space, space science and exploration, and his belief that nothing is impossible.

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Brian Little, the son of an airplane and helicopter pilot, loved aviation and space flight from a young age. He was a sci-fi enthusiast and thoroughly enjoyed Star Wars and Star Trek movies where, “Space — the final frontier,” was the central theme. As a youngster, he watched aircraft soar above his home near the U.S. Army’s aviation flight training school and studied the stars with the telescope given to him by his grandfather.

In the 7th grade, Brian attended Space Camp, an experience that cemented his interest in flight and desire for a career in the space program. He earned his private pilot’s license at age 17 and went on to become an FAA licensed single-engine and multi-engine commercial pilot. He was also licensed as an unmanned aerial vehicle remote pilot. He graduated from Auburn University with a mechanical engineering degree and went to work at Marshall Space Flight Center supporting the International Space Station. Brian was one of the first flight controllers certified when the Payload Operations Integration Center became operational in February 2001. He later helped design, develop, and test payload experiments in collaboration with Kennedy and Johnson space centers, other NASA centers, and multi-national agencies. After a long and successful career in Huntsville, Brian returned to his hometown in southeast Alabama to further his education and simultaneously train for his helicopter pilot certificate. He was killed in an accident while training on May 30, 2020. This scholarship is established to honor Brian’s life and to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, “to go where no man has gone before.”

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Third Fleet seeks to provide our younger members with an experience at the Space Camp of their choice. We raise funds and accept donations to send two candidates per year. It is open to any youth member of TRMN. There is an application process and submissions are reviewed by a selection committee.

The Royal Manticoran Navy is the Official fan group for David Weber’s Honor Harrington Military Space Opera novels.

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Janice moved to Wilbraham, MA from Rockford, IL as a middle school student. Many in the Minnechaug Regional High School graduating class of 1973 have very distinct memories of the reserved yet self confident and brilliant “new girl”, who at the time was at least a full year younger than they were. Her academic ability immediately showed, as she excelled in every subject. When she had fulfilled all the requirements for graduation from Minnechaug, she graduated a year early with the class of ‘72.

Janice was selected for the NASA Space Program in 1991 and flew 5 missions, traveling a total of 18.8 million miles in 779 orbits over 49 days. She cited the 1962 Madeleine L’Engle novel A Wrinkle in Time as one of her first inspirations for becoming an astronaut and brought a copy on board STS-94, then gifted it to the author.

Janice passed away in 2012 at the far too young age of 55 from breast cancer. It is our desire, the Minnechaug Regional High School Class of 1973, her former friends and admirers, to preserve her memory with a scholarship to be awarded to a female Space Camp applicant, who demonstrates curiosity about our great universe, as Janice did.

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As a youngster, Brian Robert White developed a love for flying and set a goal of becoming an aviator. He spent his formative years in Brentwood, Tennessee and graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 2009 with a degree in aerospace. While attending MTSU, Brian worked for two summers as a counselor at Aviation Challenge Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. While there, he was known as “Pan” to hundreds of camp trainees. Continuing to pursue his life’s dream, Brian applied for a coveted warrant officer position with the U.S. Army and was one of only two Tennessee residents accepted into the program. He was inducted into the Army in 2010 and during his service was posted at various times to Fort Rucker, Fort Campbell and Fort Irwin. Brian also served nine months in Afghanistan, flying UH-60 Black Hawks for medical evacuations and special operations. He was also interested in public safety work and after completing his military service, would have sought a position in that field. Brian was lost in a private plane crash on July 29, 2017, one day after announcing his engagement to Rebecca Raymond, the love of his life.

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