Above: Montana Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) and Carroll associate professor Dr. Shaun Scott at the Kennedy Space Center
In January 2024, as the Montana Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) representative for Carroll, Dr. Shaun Scott, associate professor of computer science, visited the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida as part of a group sponsored by the MSGC. A number of students from across the state also attended as did the MSGC Director. The trip focused on making STEM opportunities more visible to Montana students creating enthusiasm to pursue STEM education and careers.
“The trip was amazing! First watching a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch (from the car) was ...almost indescribable. Learning about the history of the Saturn V program, the space shuttle program with an up close and personal experience with Atlantis as well as seeing the Martian rovers and learning about continued Mars exploration at KSC was so interesting and exciting,” said Dr. Scott.
The MSGC group was also given a "behind the scenes" VIP tour where they toured the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the crawler that carries the mobile launch platform (MLP) and rockets to the launch site, an on-site look at the Artemis launch site as well as a close drive by of the SpaceX Falcon 9 and potential Starship launch sites just to name a few.
“My takeaway, everything is big, the engineering is the best in the world, the rockets, launch systems, assembly building, MLP, ...the engineering around everything is amazing! It's inspiring. I believe it truly gave all of the students the sense that they can achieve and be successful in a STEM career, perhaps with NASA, perhaps with the many companies who partner with NASA such as SpaceX, Boeing, etc., regardless of which small town they come from or their background! I think the students have been inspired to achieve!
“Another takeaway is that there are literally limitless high paying opportunities stemming from a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education. Not only at NASA or their tech partners but also with the spinoffs that are applying space tech to solve challenges here on Earth.”
~ Dr. Shaun Scott, Associate Professor, MSGC Carroll representative