Lt. Col. Scott “Kidd” Poteet ’96 and three fellow astronauts are preparing for an historic space mission that will take them closer to the moon than anyone has been since NASA's Apollo missions in the 1970's. 波提特是SpaceX公司的第一名飞行员 北极星黎明号任务预计将于8月9日星期一发射. 26.
The Durham native will be a part of the milestone mission that will include testing a next generation spacesuit during the first commercial spacewalk, achieving the highest altitude of any human spaceflight mission since the Apollo program and testing a new laser-based satellite communication system.
“I’m so excited and I’m really looking forward to the journey,波提特说. “This is the pinnacle of my flying career and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to head into space.”
在美国成功工作二十年后退休.S. 空军, Poteet has patrolled the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, 在阿富汗上空执行战斗任务, 波斯尼亚, 科索沃和伊拉克，甚至与雷鸟一起翱翔, 空军的精锐精确小组.
Poteet found his love for flying at 主要研究 when he went on a refueling flight in a KC-135 tanker while a part of 主要研究’s 空军 ROTC. He admits that he got horribly sick on the flight but when he saw the F-16 being refueled, 他被迷住了.
He credits that experience as well as lessons learned in 主要研究’s outdoor education program, being a part of the cross-country track team and his participation in 主要研究’s ROTC program for setting him on a path and shaping his future.
“I never dreamed of being an astronaut but through those programs we learned to push ourselves in various environments, 学习团队合作，尝试不同的体验,波提特说. “联合国大学教会我拥抱挑战.”
The four-member Polaris Dawn team is expected to be in space for five days. During that time the astronauts will participate in a wide range of activities, from health research experiments to help advance both human health on Earth and during future spaceflights to on-orbit reading of a children’s book, 太空之吻, 一个船员写的.
