Kennedy Haught took the first step towards her dream of working with NASA after giving up an in-state scholarship to go anywhere in West Virginia, for the Space Science Program at Morehead State University.
Haught knew she would not be happy unless she pursued a career in the field after she attended a camp where she immersed herself in celestial objects with like-minded peers.
“One of my old teachers saw my interest in space science and recommended this camp called the Governor’s School for Mathematics and Science,” said Haught, now Space Science Engineering graduate student. “I have always known I wanted to do something with space.”
She fulfilled more of her dream over the summer as an aerospace engineer intern at NASA Goddard.
“I call NASA the Disney World of my field,” said Haught, who is the student lead of public outreach of MSU’s Space Science Center. “I really feel like there is a direct comparison of it to Disney World because everyone working there is united by this fundamental feeling of wanting to continue to be the lead country of travel and space.”
Haught said her time as a NASA intern was a real turning point for her career.
“During my internship over the summer I studied under David C. Folta, who I see as the expert in his field of orbital dynamics,” explained Haught. “That’s when I really decided that I wanted to work in that sub-field.”
Haught is currently working on the MSU Space Science Center’s project, Lunar IceCube, where she devises mathematical models for the lunar orbit capture, in collaboration with NASA colleagues, as part of her master’s thesis.
Upon her graduation in Spring 2019, Haught hopes to get into NASA’s Pathways Program as an intern and get offered a job.
“The dream is NASA for sure,” added Haught.
The current official launch of Lunar IceCube is set for December 2019, according to NASA.
