BBC film VIP visitor at Callington Space Centre

Ms Amber Gell, a Space Engineer from Houston, Texas, is spending time in the UK meeting the astronauts and engineers of the future...

Amber, who works for Lockheed Martin on the Constellation Project, has visited schools from Scotland to Cornwall, explaining the Project and her role as an engineer working on the docking mechanism for the Orion spacecraft.  She spent several days at Callington Space Centre and the Community College, getting involved in a number of activities.

On June 11th, when BBC Spotlight arrived to interview and film Amber, she was in the Space Centre helping to deliver a Space Adventures course to children from local Primary Schools.  Resident Astronomer Clive Purchase made rockets with the children from Callington, Coads Green, Harrowbarrow and Bishop Cornish Primary Schools, and the rockets were "launched" on the tennis courts using compressed air.

On the same day, Year 7 students at Callington Community College were adding their signatures to a poster that will be taken into space when the shuttle is next launched.  Amber chatted with the students, telling them that by the time they are in their early 20s, NASA expects to be sending astronauts to Mars - and it could be them!

All the students left with a glossy space poster signed by Amber.

During her time in Callington, Amber has talked to Science and Engineering students, encouraging them to think big and possibly set their sights on a career in Space Engineering, or even as an Astronaut.  She was also guest of honour at the official opening of the ChiiL building at the College (read more about this here).

It has been a privilege to have Amber at the College.