NASA Langley Rockets to Lumberton, N.C. for Mid-Atlantic Fly-in

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May 11, 2010, 12:00 ET

HAMPTON, Va., May 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA will take visitors into space and leave them with a picture postcard as a souvenir at this weekend's fly-in in Lumberton, N.C. from May 14-16.

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Technicians and others from NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., will be part of a special NASA display at the Mid-Atlantic Fly-In and Sport Aviation Convention at the Lumberton Municipal Airport.

Among the NASA participants is native son, Tom Mitchell, who works on exploration and flight projects at Langley. Mitchell was recruited from Robeson Community College in Lumberton by NASA Langley after getting his two-year degree in electronics. He says he was excited to get the call from NASA, in part because it gave him the chance "to build something that might go into space."

Mitchell will share some of his experiences with about 250 high school students during a career day at the convention from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., Friday, May 14. "I plan to encourage them to take math and science seriously," said Mitchell. "Because you never know what kinds of opportunities you might have."

Visitors to the fly-in will have the opportunity to learn more about NASA's contributions to aviation, see items used in research at NASA Langley and discover how scientists hope to fly a rocket-powered airplane over the surface of Mars. The exhibit will also emphasize NASA's role in space exploration including robotic astronaut assistant, "Robonaut," and the free "Postcard from Space" memento.

For more information about NASA's Langley Research Center, please go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/langley

For more about the Mid-Atlantic Fly-In and Sport Aviation Convention, visit:

http://www.mafsac.com/

SOURCE NASA