Latest news with #Mt.JulietHigh
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Thankful beyond words.' Middle Tennessee native astronaut Barry Wilmore back from space
Mt. Juliet High and Tennessee Tech graduate Barry "Butch" Wilmore returned to Earth Tuesday after 286 days in space, bringing joy and relief to his father and brother who still reside in Tennessee. Wilmore and fellow crew member Sunita Williams docked at the International Space Station on June 6 for a short mission. But that stretched to nine months because of technical problems with the Boeing Starliner that ferried them on a test mission initially estimated for 1 to 2 weeks. The pair finally splashed down off the Florida coast with three other astronauts Tuesday. 'I am thankful beyond words that he is back on Earth safely,' Barry Wilmore's father Eugene Wilmore said. 'Nine months is a long time to be away from family and friends, but he has always been one to make the best of any situation.' Wilmore will now take part in a 45-day post-mission recovery program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to readapt to Earth's gravity. Wilmore now lives in the Houston area. The program will include medical and performance testing, scientific studies, and a structured reconditioning program. An evidence-based recovery plan tailored for each crew member will follow, according to NASA. Astronauts typically spend the first night at the space center when they return from an extended stay in space, a NASA spokesperson said. Astronauts then go through the recovery program, typically going back and forth from home. 'We are so excited to have Barry back,' the astronaut's brother Jack Wilmore, a Franklin resident, said. 'It's been a long stretch and seeing him splash down was incredible and an answer to our prayers. 'I'm really proud of him and everything he has accomplished. I can't wait to hear all about it and have him home with us again.' Wilmore and Williams returned with SpaceX Crew 9 members Nick Hague and Russian Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov in a SpaceX Dragon that brought the next astronauts rotating on the space station. The lengthy stay for Wilmore and Williams received attention from President Donald Trump earlier this year. The president posted a social media request to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to get Wilmore and Williams back to Earth. The return trip was mildly accelerated from earlier estimates of a late March return. The flight was the Boeing Starliner's first mission with crew members. The Starliner's problems included a helium leak, and eventually led to the spacecraft's return to Earth without Wilmore and Williams due to safety concerns. Wilmore and Williams remained on the ISS and joined in on tasks with astronauts already there. Wilmore's stay included his fifth spacewalk. Wilmore now has 464 cumulative days logged in space, the sixth most among NASA astronauts. Williams advanced to 608 total days in space, which places her second among NASA astronauts. Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham was in contact with Wilmore throughout the mission and released a statement that included: 'Over the last nine months, Barry has shown the world the strength and tenacity that our campus has witnessed up close over many years. His faith sustained him through unexpected challenges and brought him to this moment. He has made all of us at his alma mater enormously proud," Oldham said.'With this historic mission, Barry has not only further cemented his place in the history of Tennessee Tech, but also in the history of spaceflight.' The City of Mt. Juliet held a brief wreath placement ceremony and moment of silence at the corner of Lebanon and North Mt. Juliet roads where there is a tribute display for Wilmore, to honor and pray for the astronaut Monday before his scheduled return. Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@ and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Middle Tennessee native Barry Wilmore back from space after 9 months
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Wilson County students 'fly' in hands-on courses that enrolled 181,000 statewide
Wilson Central High School senior Parker Klein is about to land in Miami. Mt. Juliet High seniors Dean Sutherland and Collin Fox, Green Hill senior Addison McQueen and Lebanon High senior Nicholas Ballard are also flying around the country — doing it all from Wilson County's central office. That is where a Career and Technical Education aviation class takes place using simulators, one of 193 CTE classes the district has with about 6,000 students enrolled per semester. "I like the way it gives kids an opportunity to experience aviation," Sutherland said, then adding. "Firsthand." Tennessee had more than 181,000 students enrolled in CTE courses during the 2023-24 academic year, according to the state Department of Education. The class of 2023 had 95.16% of CTE students go on to a four-year university, two-year college or technical program, military service, or the workforce. Tennessee schools will have 59 programs of study within CTE programs in 2025-26, according to the state, with programs that are aligned to a career cluster and include four courses. 'Career and Technical Education plays an integral role in preparing all Tennessee students today for the jobs of tomorrow,' said Lizzette Reynolds, Tennessee commissioner of education. 'Students are prepared for success by participating in opportunities that allow them to grow, improve, and learn, gaining the confidence and experience to advance to postsecondary, the workforce, or the military.' Agriculture and Natural Resources, Business Management, Culinary Arts, Cosmetology, Health Sciences and Information Technology are among the most popular CTE courses in Wilson County. Welding, marketing and automotive classes are among other district offerings, CTE Supervisor Bonnie Holman said. A majority of the district's dual enrollment courses are within CTE programs. There are 37 students in the four aviation courses the district offers, a program now in its second year. The classes have simulators that mimic actual flight details, from taking off to landing, with wind, turbulence, rain, day, night and other variables actual pilots experience. "It definitely helps because you can feel what a slip is supposed to feel like, which is a method of losing altitude quickly," Parker said while on the Redbird MCX Full Motion Simulator. "It is pretty realistic." Mt. Juliet High's Collin Fox has known since first-grade that he wanted to be a pilot. "I even told my first-grade teacher I'd fly her one day," Fox said. "And when I heard about this class I thought it was perfect. Especially since it is dual enrollment, so I'd have fun flying and skip real school. Perfect." Alan Ward, a pilot for 24 years with NetJets, teaches the district's four aviation classes. Ward learned of the opening after initially looking into substitute teaching with the district. Wilson County has 139 CTE teachers. Staffing classes with qualified trade experts, paying them and then teaching those experts "how to teach," is a challenge for CTE programs. So is equipment and material costs that many courses involve, Holman said. Wilson County did receive an Innovative School Models Grant in 2022 that has provided the district $8.5 million dollars over four years, through June 30, 2026. Funding helps add programs in each high school, hire instructors, purchase equipment support teacher professional development and training and provide stipends for CTE teachers, Holman said. "Aviation was one such program we were able to implement for the district and is a perfect example of an industry sector that is high skill, high wage and in demand regionally to our area," Holman said. "If we can expose students to more careers at an earlier age, they know what career options are available to them and they can pursue those. It allows those students hands on applications for those skills and they can test drive that career to see 'Do I enjoy this (or) do I not?' and that is a valuable learning experience in and of itself." Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@ and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Aviation courses give Middle Tennessee CTE students hands-on training
