SPACE

EXPO 2025

This in-person special event will feature guests from our region’s aerospace industry, activities for children and families, and much more!

This event is free with museum admission. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online below. Please note, promotions do not apply for this event.

Beginning in 1987, Mastracchio worked first with Hamilton
Standard in CT before joining NASA in 1990 as an engineer. He worked in the
Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory on space shuttle flight software, and
in the Astronaut Office on ascent and abort procedures for crew members. From
there, he became a Guidance and Procedures Officer flight controller, working
in mission control for space shuttle ascents and entries, before being selected
as an astronaut in 1996.

As an astronaut, Mastracchio logged 228 days in space on
three space shuttle missions and one long-duration stay at the International
Space Station. His first flight, STS-106, came in 2000, on board space shuttle
Atlantis, when he and his crewmates worked to prepare the space station for its
first expedition crew. He returned aboard space shuttle Endeavour for STS-118
in 2007, when as lead spacewalker, he participated in three spacewalks to
install a new truss segment, a new gyroscope and a new spare parts platform on
the space station’s exterior.

In 2010, Mastracchio was part of the STS-131 crew of space
shuttle Discovery. He performed another three spacewalks and helped deliver
27,000 pounds of hardware, including three experiment racks and new sleeping
quarters for the space station. He was then able to put the hardware to use in
2014, when he spent 188 days in space as part of the Expedition 38 and 39
crews. During that stay, he performed three more spacewalks, leaving him with a
total of 53 hours spent outside the space station on nine spacewalks.

Mastracchio was born in in Waterbury, Connecticut. He holds
a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering and computer science
from the University of Connecticut, and two master of science degrees in
electrical engineering and physical science, from Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute in Troy, New York, and University of Houston-Clear Lake,
respectively.

Lectures: 11:00am and 1:00pm

Public Meet and Greets: 10:00-10:45am & 2:00-3:00pm

- Intergalactic Characters & Droids from the 501st Legion Connecticut Garrison

- Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford

- CATO Rocketry Club

- Danbury FIRST Robotics Teams

- EAA Chapter 166

- NASA Solar System Ambassador Program

- Springfield Museums

- Springfield Stars Club

-Talcott Mountain Science Center

AND MORE!!