Greg Kennedy Selected as Astronaut Candidate

DALLAS, PHILADELPHIA, and WASHINGTON, July 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizens in Space, a project of the United States Rocket Academy, has announced the selection of its fifth citizen-astronaut candidate.

Informal educator and aerospace historian Greg Kennedy will join four other citizen-astronaut candidates who are training to fly as payload operators on the Lynx spacecraft, currently under construction by XCOR Aerospace in Mojave, CA. XCOR expects to begin Lynx test flights later this year.

"We are pleased to welcome Greg to our astronaut group," said Edward Wright, citizen-astronaut candidate and project manager for Citizens in Space. "His experience and skills will help to strengthen our program and expand our outreach in new directions."

Greg Kennedy is currently director of education at NASTAR Center, a leading provider of spaceflight training for commercial vehicles, in Southampton, Pennsylvania. Previously, he was associate curator for manned spaceflight at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC; director of the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas; founding director of the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum in Fort Worth; executive director of the Space Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico; executive director of the Mid Atlantic Air Museum in Liberal, Kansas; and executive director of the American Helicopter Museum in West Chester, Penn.

"I am proud to join this program, which is providing everyday citizens with ground-breaking opportunities to participate in space science and space exploration," said Greg Kennedy.

Kennedy is a noted aerospace historian whose books include Touching Space: The Story of Project Manhigh, Apollo to the Moon, The First Men in Space; Rockets and Missiles of White Sands Proving Ground, and Vengeance Weapon Two: Germany's V-2 Rocket. He was also a co-author of The Space Shuttle Operator's Manual and Rockets, Missiles, and Spacecraft of the National Air and Space Museum.

Kennedy is a qualified spacesuit technician and commercial spaceflight instructor. At NASTAR Center, he conducts training for commercial spaceflight participants and suborbital scientists, along with various workshops and summer-camp programs which he has created for teachers and students.

Citizens in Space was originally known as  "Teachers in Space." Lt. Col. Steve Heck, a retired Air Force pilot and science teacher from Milford, Ohio was one of the first astronaut candidates to be recruited. "In 2012, the program was renamed and expanded to include a broader range of participants, including informal educators, university students, hardware hackers and science hobbyists," Heck said. "Greg Kennedy represents our first outreach to the informal-education community. Today's announcement is only a taste of things to come."

Citizens in Space has purchased 10 flights on the XCOR Lynx spacecraft. To fill those flights, Citizens in Space is seeking 100 citizen-science experiments and 10 citizen astronauts to fly as payload operators.

Current citizen-astronaut candidates include Maureen Adams, an elementary-school teacher and principle from Killeen, Texas; Michael Johnson, an aviation instructor from Dallas, Texas; Lt. Col. Steve Heck (USAF-ret.), and Edward Wright.

Additional information about the program can be found at www.citizensinspace.org.

Photo:

A picture of Greg Kennedy is available at http://www.citizensinspace.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Kennedy.jpg

Media Contacts:
Edward Wright
Email 
Lt. Col. Steve Heck (USAF-ret.)
(513) 607-8152

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SOURCE Citizens in Space