Captain
Walker Gilbert
Co-Captain
Joaquinn Lopez
Public Relations
Payton Holman
Treasurer
Neil Martinka
Safety Officer
Diego Valdes
Secretary
Maverick Vrazel
Team Advisor
Elaine Porterfield
The Challenger Learning Center at Texas State Technical College's Waco campus is the third of its kind in Texas and is affiliated with the not-for-profit Challenger Center for Space Science Education in Washington, D.C. TSTC’s Harlingen campus is also home to a Challenger Learning Center.
The center’s purpose is to bring the planets to life for students. Visitors attend a short mission briefing and then divide into groups to work in Mission Control and a working laboratory. Activities are focused on communication, critical thinking, leadership and science.
The Challenger Learning Center honors the astronauts who died Jan. 28, 1986, when a booster engine failed on the Challenger space shuttle launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The initiative was founded that year by the families of the seven astronauts tragically killed.