A group of Knox students is spending part of the summer holidays in the United States upskilling with the Actura CASE Senior Space School in Houston, San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
Meeting astronauts, constructing and launching rockets, building and coding VEX robots, and having a go at neutral buoyancy simulation scuba diving were just a few of the activities in the first week of the program.
The tour is designed as an "immersive, experiential program that hones individual leadership, entrepreneurialism, project management and communication skills, while building personal skills and lifelong friendships".
The boys spent the past week in Houston, Texas, at the Johnson Space Center (NASA) and in their downtime, enjoyed a trip to watch the NBA and Ad Astra, the plasma rocket building facility, before travelling to San Francisco, Stanford University and Silicon Valley.
A highlight of the trip has been the opportunity for the students to meet with three astronauts for a Q&A.
"We were lucky enough to have an impromptu talk from Katherine Bennell-Pegg, the first astronaut to officially represent Australia," said Melinda Valent, Assistant Head of TAS Stage 6 and Technology Innovation Co-ordinator, who is accompanying the students.
Ms Bennell-Pegg is currently training with the European Space Agency in Germany, and is Director of Space Technology at the Australian Space Agency.
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