Christopher Stubenrauch, a Stony Brook University senior studying atmospheric science, astronomy and applied mathematics, was chosen to attend a special social media event for the launch of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample-return spacecraft on Thursday, September 8, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission is NASA’s first attempt to travel to a carbon-based asteroid to bring back a sample for complete examination. The invitation includes a tour of the entire facility the day before the launch.
Stubenrauch owns a 10-inch Dobsonian telescope that he uses to show the Moon, planets and stars to SBU students and others around the world. He simply holds his iPhone camera up the telescope’s eyepiece and then uses Periscope — Twitter’s live-streaming mobile application — to stream the night sky right into people’s homes.
Stubenrauch must pay for the expenses of the trip to see the launch. He is already paying to attend college and is looking for help to offset his trip. Please visit his GoFundMe page for more about his story and possibly help him get to NASA.
“Thank you in advance for any help you can provide, whether it be contributing to my trip or sharing my story,” said Chris. “I truly feel that I have flourished at Stony Brook because of the incredible support I have been given since day one, and I am hopeful that this opportunity will allow me to give back to the Stony Brook community in the near future.”
Stubenrauch will broadcast the rocket launch live on his Periscope account on September 8. Follow him on Twitter @cjstuben9.
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