Seamus Owens of Port Haywood attended Space Academy on June 17-22 at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Owens was awarded a full scholarship to attend the academy.

The academy’s weeklong educational program promotes science, technology, engineering and math while training students with hands-on activities and missions based on teamwork, leadership and problem solving. 

The program is specifically designed for trainees who have a particular interest in space exploration. Owens spent the week training with a team that flew a simulated space mission to the International Space Station.

Once aboard the ISS, the crew participated in experiments and successfully completed an extra-vehicle activity, or spacewalk. The students slept in quarters designed to resemble the ISS and trained in simulators like those used by NASA.

Owens and crew returned to Earth in time to graduate with honors. During the graduation ceremony, Owens’ team, Europa, was awarded ...