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Astronaut returns home to Waterbury
BY BRYNN MANDEL | REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
June 3, 2008
Rick Mastracchio, astronaut and Waterbury native,
speaks to fifth grade students at Chase Elementary
School on their graduation from the Starbase program
on Monday. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/Republican-American)
WATERBURY -- The astronaut returned home this week,
striding across the same wood gymnasium floor where
he played decades, and many millions of miles, ago.
Rick Mastracchio, 48, never thought much about
becoming a spaceman during his time at Chase School.
Years later, he nonetheless realized the child's fantasy of blasting off on a rocket to space — twice.
Mastracchio shared of his path to space with about 140 fifth-graders at his elementary alma matter
on Monday, then engaged in an exchange that covered everything from eating to upchucking in
zero gravity.
The former Hamilton Standard engineer and Crosby High graduate first applied to become an
astronaut in the mid-1980s. Instead, NASA offered Mastracchio an engineering post. He accepted,
but maintained astronaut aspirations.
"I applied every year, and every year I would get turned down," he said, sporting a blue NASA
jumpsuit. Astronaut training accepted him in 1996. "Nine years I applied. I kept on trying and I kept
on pushing."
A bulletin board in the gym's corner paid homage to Chase's celebrated graduate with a photo of
Mastracchio in his orange flight suit flanked by the phrases "Shoot for the stars" and "You just
might reach them."
The married father of three narrated a video of his second mission to the International Space
Station, including his first, second and third space walks. He described exiting the space station's
hatch into the darkness for the first time.
"You really can't see much at first," he said. Orbiting at close to 18,000 miles per hour, the space
station saw a sunrise and sunset every 45 minutes -- about the time it took to circle Earth.
Thunderstorms marked Mastracchio's first foray into space's dark vacuum. "I could see the
lightning dancing all over the planet as we soared above it."
He encapsulated the rest of the 5.3 million-mile August trip matter-of-factly. He detailed how he
nearly made unprecedented, in-orbit repairs to the shuttle's underbelly, damaged during takeoff,
as nonchalantly as he described astronauts' sleeping conditions, in bags affixed to shuttle walls.
The children fixated on space's effect on humans. Of particular fascination was how Mastracchio
measured an inch or two taller in orbit.
"I didn't know your spine could extend like that," said Amber Prete, 11, who adopted the call name
"Hi-C" for the Department of Defense-funded science program, STARBASE, that brought
Mastracchio, now of Houston, to Waterbury. The program augments science education for select
fifth-grade classes in Waterbury and Hartford.
***********************************************************************************************************************
Learning Made Fun at STARBASE, BY STEVE SMITH, Reminder News, May 2008
Click here to see the article.
Blast off! Into education...
Posted 7/31/2009
A Wonderful Day for Rocket Launching
By Rachel Gottlieb on August 5, 2008
The Hartford Courant Blog
One-by-one the sixth-graders at Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford lined up to launch the
rockets they made at Starbase, the Department of Defense-funded program that teaches lessons in
science, technology, engineering and math near Brainard Airport. Click here to read the full story.
Photo by Mark Mirko.
**********************************************************
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Hartford’s Capital Prep Magnet School Students Reaching for the Stars
August 6th, 2008 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information
We don’t hear a lot of good news from Hartford, especially from the schools. So when my husband, Assistant Principal
at Capital Prep Magnet School in Hartford, sent this link to me this morning, I wanted to share it with you.
Some of Capital Prep’s sixth-graders spent yesterday at Starbase, “the Department of Defense-funded program that
teaches lessons in science, technology, engineering and math near Brainard Airport.” The kids spent the day making
and launching rockets, learning and having fun along the way. A Wonderful Day for Rocket Launching
This is just one of the many great things happening at Capital Prep.
While other kids are on vacation or hanging around the house, Capital Prep students, dressed in their school
uniforms, work on getting the best education that will help them go to college. Even if I weren’t married to the Assistant
Principal, I would be encouraged and proud of the work the kids, faculty and administration are doing.
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************
Summer Learning At Starbase
Clubs & Organizations, Courant.com
Submitted by Melissa Vanek on 08-04-2008.
Small planes fly over the children's heads as a large black dragonfly flies
right by their faces as soon to be sixth graders explore the Brainard airport.
One group of children is lucky enough to be a part of the summer program at
STARBASE CT.
STARBASE CT offered a week-long program late in July to a group of 16 children entering sixth grade. During the
week, the participants had fun learning more about the possible careers in the STEM fields (science, technology,
engineering, and math).
The children learned about scientists while conducting some experiments of their own. They entered into an inflatable
planetarium and learned about the amazing mathematical patterns that connect their own DNA to the spirals of the
universe. They were even able to pretend they were astronauts and had to overcome a number of obstacles, with the
help of the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology.
Their week culminated with a fun-filled day exploring Brainard Airport, where STARBASE is located. They visited the
state police and saw their helicopter after a visit from the airport manager who demonstrated the fire truck's abilities.
They even had a chance to see how a flight simulator works at the Connecticut Flight Academy after a visit from a
pilot in the Connecticut Air National Guard. The children climbed the stairs of the air traffic control tower to see the
view and sat in three experimental planes owned by pilots who are a part of the Experimental Aircraft Association. All
of this while a blimp circled overhead; even the highly energetic children went home tired that day.
Jenny Lopez, a parent of one of the participants, said, "This program was extremely beneficial for the kids. They
didn't even realize how much they were learning, but I did each time my daughter came home and told me about her
day."
The STARBASE program is funded by the Department of Defense and the main program occurs during the school
year for fifth grade students. All of the fifth grade students in East Hartford's public schools participate in the
academic program designed to increase the knowledge and skills of the students in the STEM fields. There is a
second site located in Waterbury. The STARBASE community consists of 60 academies across the country, Puerto
Rico and the District of Columbia.
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East Hartford STARBASE Brings STEM Education To Life
HartfordCourant.com
Submitted by STARBASE, Melissa Vanek, 2011-02-04.
Four STARBASE students designing
a seatbelt for an egg on a shuttle.
Fifth grade students from East Hartford are once again attending the Connect-
icut STARBASE Academy -- a hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer-
ing and Mathematics) outreach program hosted by the Connecticut National
Guard. Since STARBASE began in 2001, more than 10,000 Connecticut students have benefited from the program's
fast-paced and highly interactive curriculum.
STARBASE's five-day curriculum is designed to increase the students' skills and interests in STEM-related fields while
addressing a number of core physical science concepts, including the properties and states of matter, Newton's Laws
of Motion, and atmospheric properties. The curriculum also places a heavy emphasis on engineering with activities
related to the engineering design process and three-dimensional computer-aided design. Each student completes a
simple 3D design project using state-of-the-art PTC Pro/Engineer design software. Their designs are then created out
of plastic using STARBASE's dimensional printer so each student graduates with a keychain they helped to make.
While the numerous snow days have wrecked havoc on the five-day trips to STARBASE, located at Brainard Airport,
the students have been enjoying the hands-on activities just the same. Many students were even upset that they had
snow days because they thought were going to miss out on STARBASE.
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************
HartfordCourant.com
Submitted by STARBASE, Melissa Vanek, 2011-02-04.
Four STARBASE students designing
a seatbelt for an egg on a shuttle.
Fifth grade students from East Hartford are once again attending the Connect-
icut STARBASE Academy -- a hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer-
ing and Mathematics) outreach program hosted by the Connecticut National
Guard. Since STARBASE began in 2001, more than 10,000 Connecticut students have benefited from the program's
fast-paced and highly interactive curriculum.
STARBASE's five-day curriculum is designed to increase the students' skills and interests in STEM-related fields while
addressing a number of core physical science concepts, including the properties and states of matter, Newton's Laws
of Motion, and atmospheric properties. The curriculum also places a heavy emphasis on engineering with activities
related to the engineering design process and three-dimensional computer-aided design. Each student completes a
simple 3D design project using state-of-the-art PTC Pro/Engineer design software. Their designs are then created out
of plastic using STARBASE's dimensional printer so each student graduates with a keychain they helped to make.
While the numerous snow days have wrecked havoc on the five-day trips to STARBASE, located at Brainard Airport,
the students have been enjoying the hands-on activities just the same. Many students were even upset that they had
snow days because they thought were going to miss out on STARBASE.
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************
STARBASE Students Visit CCSU
School Stuff, Hartford Courant, 2011-12-05.
The second day of December was graduation day for the 30 students from
O'Connell school, who just completed their five day learning experience at
STARBASE.
During their visit to STARBASE, the students learned about the fields of
science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in an engaging way -
participating in their learning. The students have an opportunity to "become"
scientists and engineers at
STARBASE, by testing theories
in science experiments and
designing prototypes to print
on a 3D printer. STARBASE CT
has been bringing a high-
quality STEM program to the
fifth grade students of East
Hartford schools for four years,
though the National DoD
STARBASE program has been
in existence since 1991.
Click here to read the full story.
****************************************************************************************************************
School Stuff, Hartford Courant, 2011-12-05.
The second day of December was graduation day for the 30 students from
O'Connell school, who just completed their five day learning experience at
STARBASE.
During their visit to STARBASE, the students learned about the fields of
science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in an engaging way -
participating in their learning. The students have an opportunity to "become"
scientists and engineers at
STARBASE, by testing theories
in science experiments and
designing prototypes to print
on a 3D printer. STARBASE CT
has been bringing a high-
quality STEM program to the
fifth grade students of East
Hartford schools for four years,
though the National DoD
STARBASE program has been
in existence since 1991.
Click here to read the full story.
****************************************************************************************************************
STARBASE student, Victor Murphy, is
amazed that the piece of metal broke
during the stress test. This is the same
material that his school bus is made out
of, the professor from CCSU told him.
amazed that the piece of metal broke
during the stress test. This is the same
material that his school bus is made out
of, the professor from CCSU told him.
