Astronaut Nicole Stott Featured at Airpark Open House
Clearwater Beach resident Berle Garris, greets Astronaut Nicole Stott at Clearwater Executive Airpark open house, Saturday.
When small aircraft enthusiast Fred Passanno gathered with his flying friends at Clearwater Executive Airpark in the 1970s, to tinker with the planes and exchange flying stories with his pilot friends, he was often accompanied by his young daughter, Nicole, who was a favorite with the pilots because of her enthusiastic interest in all things aeronautical. When Nicole, who grew up to be an astronaut, returned to her roots during the Airpark's annual open house on Saturday, among the people there to greet her was Berle Garris, one of the pilots who "knew her when." Nicole's first space mission was ninety days aboard the International Space Shuttle. Her next flight will be on the presumed last U.S. mission to the Space Shuttle, scheduled for September.
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