Virginia Teachers Named to Zero-G Flight

Two rural southwestern Virginia public school teachers were named today to fly aboard the Zero Gravity Corporation's jet from Dulles International Airport on Saturday, October 3, 2009 to experience weightlessness of initial astronaut spaceflight training and subsequently return to the classrooms to inspire their students.

Gate City High School leadership teacher Rhonda O. Kilgore of Scott County was named by the Southwestern Virginia Technology Council and Powell Valley Middle School language teacher David Stallard of Wise County Public Schools was named by the Masonic Lodge No. 208 to next month's zero-gravity flight.

Both Stallard and Kilgore will experience zero gravity, 1/6 lunar gravity, and 1/3 Mars gravity during the flight. Both will be working with their respective students developing a flight experiment this month.

In the event that the named teachers can not fly for whatever reason back-up were named. Kilgore's back-up will be Steve Gregory, a Chilhowie Middle School technology teacher in Smyth County, while Stallard's back-up will be Lindsey Mabe, a Powell Valley High School mathematics teacher in Wise County.

Each teacher is being supplied with what-will-become a class text book entitled: The Space Tourist Handbook written by Virginia-based CEO of Space Adventures Eric Anderson. The nearly one hundred classroom students will subsequently be enabled to envision the short-term future of spaceflight in the terms of commercial tourism with their astronaut-trianee school teacher.

The four winning teachers are also being invited to tour the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, VA. where commercial space launches will commence in April 2011 to re-supply and carry cargo to orbit destined to the six-member crew of the International Space Station announced Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority secretary Jack Kennedy of Wise, VA.

Next year the Masonic Lodge No. 208 plan to hold a competition for a Powell Valley school student to undertake zero-gravity astronaut training to further boost STEM education.

Megan R. Seals, a 5th grade teacher at Fairfax County Public Schools and Big Stone Gap native, told the nearly 600 students assembled at the Powell Valley Middle School of her experience in zero-gravity flight and the Space Frontier Foundation program to fly public school teachers to suborbital space.

Feteing the public school teachers for their commitment to STEM education and for serving as a role model for hundreds of Central Appalachian Mountain students was State Delegate Terry G. Kilgore (R-Gate City). Both Kilgore and State Senator William C. Wampler, Jr. (R-Bristol) have been influential in shaping Virginia's spaceflight public policy.

More from The Bristol Herald Courier.