The NASTAR Center is very proud to have trained a “Father - Daughter” team of astronauts. Jim Kitchen; Blue Origin Flight # NS-20, flew to space on March 31, 2022, his daughter Karsen Kitchen; Blue Origin Flight # NS-26 flew to space on August 29, 2024. Father and Daughter completed their suborbital space flight training at the NASTAR Center. An additional accomplishment for Karsen is she made history by becoming the youngest women to fly above the Karman Line. The Karman Line is the internationally recognized boundary of space, 62 miles above sea level.

To prepare for the gravitational forces experienced on the journey to space, the #Ax3 crew had to take a spin in the centrifuge. This training helps ready the crew for the G-forces felt during launch and landing.

Glenn King, the NASTAR Center's Director of Space Training, will be at the IAASS Workshop, Human Research Program for Civilians in Spaceflight and Space Habitation. Location: Oklahoma State University, Tulsa, OK. Dates: January 23 & 24, 2024. Learn More

The modern space race has taken off, thanks in large part to the growing role played by private companies. As businesses send up more missions, build their own space stations and even think about mining the moon, they will need to find and train new types of workers. On the first episode of Tech News Briefing’s special series about the developing space economy, host Zoe Thomas looks at space jobs that go beyond astronauts.