SpaceTrek

10/07/2026

From SpaceTrek Participant to College Mentor, we are absolutely living for this glow-up! 🚀✨

Shoutout to our amazing SpaceTrek alum Frida for hosting weekly study sessions for all our girls taking SSE! Whether you need help mastering those intense data sets, finishing homework, or just want to vibe with fellow future engineers, this is your new Monday night ritual.

This is exactly what the SpaceTrek workforce pipeline is all about! Thanks to the incredible support and funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), we get to empower young women to not just enter STEM, but truly lead the way. Frida went from our summer programs to guiding university students. That’s the kind of leadership that helps to build the aerospace future! 🛰️💪

Catch Frida every Monday from 7-10 PM at the Space Science Center, Lab. Tag your SSE 105 bestie in the comments and let’s get those grades! 📚💫

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09/30/2026

09/24/2026

🚀 Please join us in welcoming JP Edie to the SpaceTrek team!

JP joins SpaceTrek as Advanced Academic Staff, where she will contribute to the development of innovative STEM-based curriculum as part of our mission to inspire and prepare the next generation of aerospace leaders. This work is supported through the $3.98 million Appalachian Regional Commission ARISE grant focused on building the aerospace workforce pipeline throughout Appalachia.

A proud SpaceTrek alumna, JP participated in the 2026 Morehead State University program and later served as a Laboratory Assistant at the 2026 West Virginia Wesleyan College program. She recently graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with degrees in Mathematics and Physics, bringing both strong technical expertise and a collaborative, student-centered approach to our team.

JP's combination of analytical skills, leadership experience, and passion for STEM education will help strengthen and expand the impact of SpaceTrek across the region.

JP says, "I'm excited to join the SpaceTrek team to combine my physics background with my love for formatting and design. I can't wait to help uplift young women in STEM and be the representation I needed growing up."

🌙 We are over the moon to welcome JP to the SpaceTrek family and look forward to the contributions she will make as we continue empowering the next generation of women in STEM.

09/22/2026

🚀 Girls Supporting Girls: A Networking Event for Young Women in Space Systems Engineering at Morehead State University

Hosted by , this special event brought together SpaceTrek alumnae and current Space Systems Engineering students - including Craft Academy at MSU students from the Bullitt Advanced Math and Science Program to build connections, share experiences, and strengthen the community of women pursuing careers in aerospace and engineering.

At the Space Science Center at Morehead State University, we believe that building the future aerospace workforce begins with creating opportunities for young women to see themselves as engineers, innovators, and leaders. Through programs like SpaceTrek, we are helping young women across Appalachia develop the skills, confidence, networks, and support systems needed to thrive in high-demand STEM careers.

Today’s conversations may become tomorrow’s research collaborations, industry partnerships, and mission teams. Together, these women are helping shape the future of aerospace. ✨

🚀 When girls support girls, they build the confidence, connections, and workforce needed to reach new heights.

09/17/2026

📡Be the Future of Space Engineering!🛰️
SpaceTrek 2027 Applications are OPEN!
Application Link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/8wc8YiZTjH

With a rigorous curriculum in Space Systems Engineering, a holistic empowerment program, and lifelong support and community - SpaceTrek has been the launchpad for hundreds of young women pursuing STEM careers in aerospace and beyond!!

📆 MSU Program Dates: June 6-19, 2027
🗓️ WVWC Program Dates: July 18-31, 2027

👩‍🚀 Open to young women who are rising 9th–12th graders & rising college freshmen.
‼️ MSU Program Applications Close March 14th!
‼️ WVWC Program Applications Close April 18th!
ℹ️Participants must have successfully completed Algebra 1 prior to the program’s start date.

The Craft Academy at Morehead State University

09/15/2026

🌘 Opportunities Abound at Morehead State University!📡
Check out this amazing article about the recently announced LEMS (Lunar Environment Monitoring Station) instrument that the Space Systems Engineers at Morehead State have been working on as a part of NASA's ongoing Artemis missions!

https://urls.grow.me/4JiZYpdYsa

The LEMS will be deployed by the first astronauts to set foot on the moon since the Apollo missions, and all of it was built by staff and students at Morehead State University! In addition, MSU's Space Science Center will control and receive data from LEMS with our 21-Meter Dish ground station.

Historic opportunities like this are available to all Space Systems Engineering students at MSU! For any SpaceTrek alumnae looking for the next step in their aerospace engineering journey - MSU provides not only world-class instruction, but the chance to kickstart your professional resume with NASA and private space industry missions while you are still working towards your degree! This is why MSU's Space Systems Engineering department boasts a 100% job placement rate right out of the program!!

Through opportunities like this, and through the strong community that our create with the other at MSU, this program continues to strengthen the Aerospace Workforce in Appalachia!

Engineers at a Kentucky university built part of the science instrument astronauts will set down near the lunar South Pole, and they will be running it too.

09/12/2026

🚨SSE 105 Study Sessions!📝
Attention all Morehead State University Students taking Space Systems Engineering 105!

SpaceTrek alumna Frida Ferrer-Valladares is hosting weekly study sessions at the space science center! This is open to both Craft Academy students and MSU students enrolled in the course!

Study Sessions are every Monday that classes are in session from 7-10pm! Come and go as needed, and don’t worry if you don’t have any specific questions when you come!

Thank you so much to Frida for hosting and teaching these study sessions! We love seeing SpaceTrek alumnae take the lead and help those around them!

09/11/2026

📡An Intrasellar Opportunity for SpaceTrek Alumnae!🪐
On September 8, 2026, Morehead State University’s Space Systems Engineering program and its DSS-17 ground station supported a Lunar-occultation event involving NASA’s Juno spacecraft.

The Juno spacecraft is a satellite in orbit around Jupiter, and at a current distance of around 920 MILLION Kilometers away from the earth, making this the furthest spacecraft that the DSS-17 station at MSU has tracked! For the first time in over 3 years, Jupiter and the Juno spacecraft will be occulted by Earth’s Moon - meaning that the moon will block them from view in the sky! This rare event presents the opportunity to study the effects of lunar regolith (dust and rocks present on the moon) on the electromagnetic signals used for communication with the spacecraft. This data will help prepare further space missions, many of which have their sights set on the Moon, for the ways that the Lunar environment interacts with communication frequencies!

Participating in this data collection are two SpaceTrek alumnae! Chloe Hart Groves, the lead ground station operator for the DSS-17, and Frida Ferrer-Valladares, a high school senior enrolled in The Craft Academy at Morehead State, who is a part of the Padawan Program at MSU!

Opportunities to participate in projects like these are what set SpaceTrek, MSU, and the Craft Academy apart from other space systems engineering programs! By giving students the chance to learn from hands-on work with real space missions, these programs are strengthening the aerospace workforce in Appalachia!

09/11/2026

Congratulations to the entire team at Morehead State University's Space Science Center for all their hard work on this exciting project that will advance our understanding of the lunar environment!!

As one of the projects that students will be able to be directly involved with as a part of the Space Science Center’s Padawan Program, LEMS will present an amazing opportunity for SpaceTrek alumnae enrolled at MSU and in The Craft Academy at Morehead State to get hands-on experience working on real space exploration hardware! For some students, this means they can develop both the skills and the professional network of a NASA mission before even graduating high school!

This is a phenomenal opportunity for these brilliant young engineers and for MSU overall!

09/09/2026

🛰️SpaceTrek Alumna to Assistant Coach✨
Today, we’re highlighting SpaceTrek 2025 Alumna MaKayla Evans - the new Assistant Coach of the Craft Academy Robot Gladiator League Team!

After becoming the Captain of West Carter High School’s Robot Gladiator League Team, MaKayla attended SpaceTrek, where she connected with Michael Combs, the Head Coach of the The Craft Academy at Morehead State University’s RGL team!

MaKayla is now a freshman at Morehead State University studying Space Systems Engineering, currently enrolled in the SSC 105 course with 8 other SpaceTrek alumnae, and Micheal Combs as her professor! MaKayla has stepped into the role of Assistant Coach for Craft Academy’s RGL Team - leveraging her connections and experience to create professional opportunities!

MaKayla says that not only did SpaceTrek help her find the professional network to discover this role, it also helped her develop the leadership and communication skills that being Assistant Coach demands!

Through opportunities, networking, and professional development opportunities like this, the SpaceTrek program is strengthening the aerospace workforce pipeline!

Congratulations MaKayla, we’re cheering you and the rest of the Craft Academy RGL Team on!!