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Pupils meet astronaut in 'awesome' encounter

Sam Read
BBC News, Bedfordshire
Reporting fromCranfield
SAM READ/BBC Commander Jack Hathaway is wearing blue NASA overalls and kneeling down in a school hall talking to two young girls with blonde hair who are sitting on the floor.SAM READ/BBC
Cdr Jack Hathaway met students at Holywell School in Cranfield, Bedfordshire

A Nasa astronaut has given a talk to children near his near his former university, describing it as an "incredible experience".

Cdr Jack Hathaway, a past student of Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, began working for the US space agency in 2022 but is still waiting for his first mission.

During a visit to the UK, he gave a talk to about 180 Year 5 pupils at nearby Holywell School.

Blake, nine, said it was "absolutely awesome" to meet an astronaut and he would "never wash this hand again" after shaking Cdr Hathaway's hand.

SAM READ/BBC A head and shoulders shot of Blake, a nine year old, smiling and looking at the camera. He is wearing a black top. Behind him is a blurred out wall of a school hall.SAM READ/BBC
Blake was one of a small number of students to come up with a winning design in a competition to draw a space camp

He said he wanted to be an astronaut himself and had "ten billion" designs at home of space rockets he had drawn.

"It would be awesome to explore a land that has never been explored before" and "create civilisations there", he added.

The Bedfordshire student who became an astronaut

Cdr Hathaway has more than 2,500 hours' flying experience as a pilot with the US Navy and studied for a Master of Science degree in flight dynamics at Cranfield in 2014.

He said he had a "really great experience" that was "critical" for his future career".

He has now completed two years of initial astronaut training and said he felt "pretty close" to a space mission and "confident" he would get the opportunity.

SAM READ/BBC Commander Jack Hathaway is standing at the front of a school hall wearing blue NASA overalls with some doors behind him and a projector screen to the side of him. The screen has the word "Questions