Astronaut Training 2011

For everyone who wasn't following me on Facebook, Twitter, or my blog, the training went very well, and I am now safely back at home with my family. I wrote two extensive blog posts describing the training experiences:

• Week 1: Survival Systems USA
• Week 2: NASTAR Center and Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Lab

We had a videographer with us documenting the entire effort, so once the final video is produced, I'll be sure to share it with all of the donors.

While I was gone, the news media picked up on the activities too. Some of the mentions are below:

• Discover Magazine: We're Looking for a Few Good Astronauts
• Hot Springs Sentinel-Record: Reaching for the stars
• Honolulu Star-Advertiser: End of space shuttle creates opening for Hawaii (op-ed that I wrote)
• Southern California Public Radio: Space tourists and researchers race to the ignorosphere and beyond!
• NASTAR Center Completes Fifth Suborbital Scientist Training
  
• BrandeisNOW: Graybiel Lab poised for next chapter of space exploration

Astute observers may notice that I have decreased the total amount I'm trying to raise from $5000 to $4350. That is because the survival training ended up costing $500 less than I expected and my parents ended up giving me $150 cash too. That means so far I've raised 21% of what I needed, which is pretty good. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. I've extended the deadline to the end of August in case there are any stragglers who want to chip in.

My bags are packed, and tomorrow I will leave on my journey. Not counting cities with plane changes and stopovers, I'll be going to 6 cities on the East Coast in 10 days.

Did you know that I've been thinking about undergoing the NASTAR Center's suborbital astronaut training course since 2007? After more than a year pouring myself into Astronauts4Hire, I am thrilled that our first training class is finally going to happen and that I will be a part of it.

Special thanks to everyone who has already donated, including my mother-in-law who also gave me some money earlier today. Stay tuned to my blog astronautforhire.com for updates!

With my trip less than 2 weeks away, preparations are in full swing. The flights are booked and hotel rooms are reserved. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far or responded wishing me well as I pursue my astronaut training goals. If you can help, I would really appreciate your support. Any amount you can spare will help. Thank you!

It's official. I'm reaching out to my friends, family, and followers to help me raise some money to offset the cost of this summer's astronaut training. Can you spare a few dollars to help me out? Read all about it here.