Watch Richland Astronaut Blast Off to Space Station on Wednesday
Richland Astronaut Kayla Barron is scheduled to blast off to the International space on Wednesday at 6:03 pm from Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
NASA plans to have live coverage beginning at 1:45 pm continuing through Thursday night.
Barron graduate from Richland High School in 2006. She then attended the United States Naval Academy graduating with a bachelor's degree in systems engineering in 2010. In 2011, Barron earned a master's degree in nuclear engineering from England's Cambridge University
Barron and three other astronauts will spend six months at the International Space Station. The launch was delayed twice, once for weather, and then for an undisclosed medical issue with one of the astronauts.
According to NASA,
Kayla Barron was one of the first women to serve as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. Now she’s ready to apply her experience under the waves to a flight above the atmosphere on the International Space Station.
Barron remembers the September 11th terrorist attacks when she was 14-years old. It was then that she knew she had the desire to serve.
The Navy announced in 2010 that it would begin permitting women to serve on submarines, one of the final naval assignments still restricted to only men. The policy change happened just as Barron was about to graduate from the Naval Academy.
It was Barron's experience on submarines that got her to apply to join the astronaut corps. Barron will be working to pave the way for future moon missions. This will be Barron's first flight. You can watch the launch here.
Watch a NASA interview with Kayla Barron below.