DURHAM, N.H. — Lt. Col. 斯科特·基德·波特96年将作为第一艘火箭进入太空 Polaris Dawn mission. The University of New Hampshire alum, and three fellow astronauts, will head closer to the moon than anyone has been since NASA’s Apollo missions in the 1970’s.

这位土生土长的达勒姆人将成为这一里程碑任务的一部分, expected to launch on Monday, August 26, that will include testing a next generation spacesuit during the first commercial spacewalk; achieving the highest altitude of any human spaceflight mission since the Apollo program; and testing a new laser-based satellite communication system. 

波提特说:“我很兴奋，我真的很期待这次旅行。. “This is the pinnacle of my flying career and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to head into space.”

Retired after a successful two decades in the U.S. Air Force, 波提特在朝鲜和韩国之间的非军事区巡逻, flown combat missions over Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq and even soared with the Thunderbirds, the Air Force’s elite precision team. 

Poteet found his love for flying at UNH when he went on a refueling flight in a KC-135 tanker while a part of UNH’s Air Force ROTC. 他承认他在飞行中病得很厉害，但当他看到F-16正在加油时, he was hooked. 

他将这一经历和从联合国大学户外教育项目中学到的教训归功于自己, being a part of the cross-country track team and his participation in UNH’s ROTC program for setting him on a path and shaping his future.

“I never dreamed of being an astronaut but through those programs we learned to push ourselves in various environments, 学习团队合作，尝试不同的体验,” said Poteet. “UNH taught me to embrace challenges.”

“北极星黎明”号四人小组预计将在太空停留五天. During that time the astronauts will participate in a wide range of activities from health research experiments to help advance both human health on Earth and during future spaceflights, to on-orbit reading of a children’s book, Kisses from Space, written by a crewmember.

VIDEO and PHOTOS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD:

Poteet UNH video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndc5b0GYFOk

Poteet photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/polarisprogramphotos/

Poteet B-roll: Video footage available here

About UNH
The University of New Hampshire 激励创新，改变我们国家、民族和世界的生活. More than 16,000 students from 50 states and 87 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top-ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, 文科和理科横跨200多个学习项目. A Carnegie Classification R1 institution, UNH partners with NASA, NOAA, NSF, and NIH, and received over $210 million in competitive external funding in FY23 to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space.