Let's Go to Space: BLUE-SKY Learning

Today we meet with Ben Jones, an Electrical & Manufactory Technician for NearSpace Launch in Upland Indiana. A recently graduate of Valparaiso University with a Bachelor of science in electrical engineering, Ben joined NSL in May of 2025 after participating in their DreamBig Project. Ben’s university team joined five other university teams who earned payload space on a .5U CubeSat. Ben helped...

Chris Carberry is the CEO and co-founder of Explore Mars, Inc. (Explore Mars), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit space advocacy organization. In this role, he oversees the annual Humans to Mars Summit, the largest annual conference focused on sending humans to Mars, and has spearheaded dozens of programs, projects, and outreach efforts. Before joining Explore Mars, Carberry served as Executive Director of The...

Today we meet with the phenomenal Sam Wheeler is a physics instructor at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, where he teaches AP Physics C, General Physics, and Elements of Satellite Design—a course in which students design, test, and fly CubeSats on a campus zipline. His career has included remarkable opportunities such as co-hosting a live math and science TV show, flying stude...

Today we meet with Michael Fatig: He’s a lifelong space enthusiast and second generation career space professional as an Engineer, a program manager, a business unit manager, and a growth leader. He has worked on Over 35 missions including one that led to a Nobel Prize for science in astrophysics). He has also led 15 professional papers, and is a recipient of the NASA Public Service Medal. Michael...

Lalitha Murali is a gifted and talented teacher for the Glendale River-Hills School District. 16 years ago, when she started teaching, she noticed that there were only a handful of immigrant and minority children in the gifted programs. By starting educational outreach programs and organizing workshops, Lalitha targeted the underrepresented groups in her school a community. Today, she offers advan...

Raz Idan has been an educator for almost 20 years, working as a guide in multiple science museums and even at an astronomical observatory. He's a self-proclaimed space-nerd with degrees in physics, materials engineering, and a master's in space systems engineering on the horizon. Raz brings his passion for education and space together in his professional life. Currently teaching Engineerin...

Today we meet with Dean Cameron, the CEO of TOP shelf Media. He has been an aerospace marketing professional for the past 38 years with experience in engineering and design as well as numerous manufacturing disciplines. In an effort to support both current Manufacturing resources, Dean launched Northwest Aerospace News in 2017. He strongly believes that the future of the aerospace industry depends...

Melissa Sleeper is a National Board Certified Teacher currently teaching Life Science and Space Science at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in Melbourne, Florida. A career changer, Melissa worked as an Agriculture Economist/Statistician setting up crop reporting services and running rural household surveys. She lived and taught in both public and private schools in Morocco, Egypt, Grenada, Barbados,...

Melissa Mecca holds a Bachelors of science in mechanical engineering from the university of Florida where she graduated cum laude in 2021. She now has four years of industry experience under her belt at Aerojet Rocketdyne, a segment of L3 Harris providing space and defense propulsion products. There she supports the RL10 program, which is one of the most reliable liquid cryogenic upper stage rocke...

Today we meet with Jo Mackiewicz; she has spent 20 plus years researching how communication facilitates (and impedes) learning while teaching at universities such as Auburn and Iowa State. She’s studied (via corpus and discourse analysis) writing center talk, technical editing and, more recently, communication between welding instructors and students in the book Welding Technical Communication. In...

Today we meet with Daniel Tatum. Dan is an electronics engineer specializing in hi-reliability applications. He provides design consulting services for small startups to get advanced electronics from concept to production quickly. Outside of work, Daniel is a motorsports enthusiast who spends his weekends motorcycling, 4-wheeling, boating, and enjoying anything with an engine. Lately, he’s even ta...

Today we meet with Domina Stamas, a Space Camp alum and veteran science educator with over 15 years of experience, is the founding physics and astronomy teacher at Westlake Charter High School in Sacramento, California. She is also the founder of The ACE Project, which connects thousands of students from around the world with analog astronauts during simulated space missions. Domina was selected a...

Jackie Blumer is a passionate Earth and Space Science educator with over 25 years of classroom experience. She brings space exploration to life for students through innovative hands-on lessons, global collaborations, and real-world STEM connections. Jackie partners with organizations like Limitless Space Institute, ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, AIAA, the Space Foundation...

Tashfia Diha is a high school junior and the founder of the Youth Space Organization (YSO), a thriving community of space lovers who are passionate about research, digital storytelling, and writing. She is an alumnus of The Knowledge Society 24' where she led the space moonshot that won Most Innovative that year. She is passionate about science journalism and engineering to create a positive i...

Today we meet with Rodrigo Schmidt! Rod is an astrophysicist, space engineer and analog astronaut from Brazil. He is finishing his PHD at Purdue, where he is researching the development of space missions while applying AI to sandbox game environments like Kerbal Space Program. Rod is the also the co-founder of SEARCH, the first organization at Purdue dedicated to astronaut-related initiatives, as...

Today, we meet with Daniel Portas Levy, a 10th grader at Florida Atlantic University High School, where he is also pursuing an undergraduate degree in mathematics. He has been a part of the Wolfpack CubeSat Development Team since middle school. He brought that early interest along with him as he entered high school where he joined their aerospace team, and he is currently their software lead. His...

Today we meet with Alex Castronovo, a 17-year-old student at Florida Atlantic University High School and long time Wolfpack member. Alex has demonstrated proficiency in software development, with contributions in neuroscience research as a research fellow at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience. His work includes the development of a software tool for analyzing synapses in electron mi...

Today, Kevin and I meet with the TheTERP RAPTOR team at the University of Maryland who are  leading an ambitious mission. What started as a class project has rapidly grown into a multi-institutional collaboration, bringing together researchers from UMD, the Naval Research Laboratory, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks to design and launch a 12U CubeSat for ahigh-speed flyby of the asteroid Apo...

In this first episode of 2025, Kevin and I discuss the amazing work of the Wolfpack CubeSat Development Team and how AIA (Aerospace and Innovation Academy) is beginning it's Spring trimester. Your middle-high school space-loving student can still join by visiting the website at aerospacehigh.org. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/space-ranger License code: FOJ02O...

Today we meet with Maria Nickel, a Kinesiology and STEM specialist teacher for over27 years. Although she has taught a variety of subjects K- 12, Maria is currently the STEM innovation program specialist K- 12 for the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada where she focuses a lot on space. Maria has sent two SSEP experiments to the ISS- including the first elementary school experiment in Canada o...

Today Kevin meets with Takeisha Stokes. Takeisha has over a decade of government experience specializing in legislation and politics. With a masters in Government with a focus on International Politics, Takeshia is a born advocate, keeping people at the forefront of her mind in all she does. Currently, she works as a legislative analysts for the Florida House of Representative, which is how we met...

Today we meet with Rebecca Vieyra, a physics educator who coordinates the American Association of Physics Teachers' NASA HEAT team, a group of educators and researchers committed to advancing heliophysics education in formal classrooms. She is originally from Illinois, where she taught high school physics for seven years. She is a 2013 recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math...

Today, Kevin and I meet with two high school students from The Greene School in West Palm Beach Florida who have been making space one of their passion projects!  Kenan Sato-Hua, is a 14-year-old 9th grader who participates on both the debate and aerospace team.  He recentlypresented at the PocketQube conference in Glasgow, Scotland and joined advocacy efforts on behalf of space policy at the annu...

Today Kevin and I meet with Dorina Girbovan has three Masters in Science and one Ph. D. in Physics. As the G100 Romania Country Chair for the Space Technology & Aviation Wing, she advocates the promotion of women in science and technology. She promotes space education for teachers worldwide as NASA’s International Ambassador. She is the founder and CEO of Beyond The Stars Education, a NonGpver...

In this solo episode, Kevin shares about the successes of this year's SmallSat Education Conference!