HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Jake Tennihill, son of Kim Bodle and Ralph Tennihill, graduated from level 1 of the Future Astronaut Training Program June 6 at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. Tennihill, of Ravenwood, will be an eighth grader at Northeast Nodaway in the fall.

The week-long introductory astronaut camp is for students entering grades 7-10 and emphasizes teamwork, leadership and problem solving. Developed by Cosmosphere staff, FATP is a nationally recognized camp that motivates campers to seek careers in space-related industries.

Throughout the week, campers train in space simulators – the centrifuge, multi-axis trainer, space shuttle simulator (“Falcon III”) and stress simulator – and practice spacewalk rescues, launch homemade rockets, direct a robotic mission and learn night sky observation techniques.

FATP participants also tour the Cosmosphere’s world-renowned Hall of Space Museum and watch shows in the Justice Planetarium and Carey IMAX® Dome Theater.

The Cosmosphere is located at 1100 N. Plum, Hutchinson, Kan. For more information about FATP, call the education coordinator at 800.397.0330, ext. 323, or visit the Cosmosphere Web site at www.cosmo.org.

The centrifuge is a rotating devise that tests people’s reactions to forces encountered during launch and reentry; the multi-axis trainer spins riders 360 degrees in multiple axes while simulating tumble-type maneuvers that could be encountered in spaceflight; the space shuttle simulator is the most realistic shuttle simulator outside of NASA, simulating launch, orbit, satellite deployment, reentry and landing; and the stress simulator incorporates external stimuli into a mission to replicate stressful situations encountered in spaceflight.

The Cosmosphere’s Future Astronaut Training Program (FATP) has four levels, each lasting six days. Levels 1 and 2 are held at the Cosmosphere; level 3 is held at the Cosmosphere for two days and then at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas for two days; and level 4 is held at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for all six days. Campers must complete the lower level before progressing to the next. For more information about FATP, contact Laurie Givan at 800-397-0330, ext. 323.

The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing patrons’ knowledge of space exploration. Educating people from around the globe, the Cosmosphere boasts the Hall of Space museum, one of the most significant collections of U.S. and Russian space artifacts in the world; the Justice Planetarium, a dome-shaped theater dedicated to astronomy; Dr. Goddard’s Lab, a live demonstration of early rocket technology; the Carey IMAX® Dome Theater, the 12th IMAX® theater built in the world; and summer astronaut training camps.