June Scobee Rodgers, founding chairman of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, was recently presented the 2015 Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award. She received the honor during the opening ceremony of the Space Foundation’s 31st Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Space Symposium is the annual gathering of all sectors of the global space community, and includes programs for select educators and students. Honorees are selected by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Space Foundation in recognition of creative and innovative use of technology by K-12 educators or district-level education personnel.
Also in April, Rodgers and her daughter, Kathie Scobee Fulghum, attended a ceremony at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. During the event, a plaque was unveiled that dedicated the Space Shuttle Enterprise to the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia space missions, who gave their lives in pursuit of space exploration.
Participating in the ceremony were the families of the crew members of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia, including those of commanders Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Francis R. “Dick” Scobee and Rick D. Husband.
Rodgers, who was married to the late Dick Scobee, provided remarks during the ceremony. He served as commander of Space Shuttle Challenger and was also a test pilot who flew the converted Boeing 747 aircraft that carried the Enterprise around the world.