MIDLAND, Texas — There's a mission to inspire the next generation of Midland to reach beyond the stars.
On Monday, the Midland Development Corporation (MDC) agreed to have a third year of Aerospace STEM programming in partnership with the Midland Independent School District. The nonprofit organization, Higher Orbits, brings in an astronaut to educate students about space.
"It's a competition where students participate and they learn from an astronaut," said Sara Harris, the executive director of the MDC. "They spend the day working together on STEM experiments and then they compete and the winning experiment gets launched to the International Space Station."
In March, three MISD high school students witnessed their experiment launch into space on SpaceX-30. It launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The team had created their experiment during the "Go for Launch" program back in 2022.
The MDC said this program is an opportunity for the Tall City to further expand into the realms of Aerospace.
"Oil and gas is the heart of Midland's economy and always will be, but aerospace and defense has the potential to be a really nice complement in terms of workforce needs, in terms of space and land and capability to launch here in Midland," Harris said. "So it's just a tremendous potential for Midland. It's something that the MDC has been investing in."
In June, the Higher Orbits "Go for Launch" is holding a two-day event in Midland where 8-12 grade students can explore and learn more about space. Registration is opening up soon.