The searing flash of flames, the ground-shaking vibration, the deafening roar of engines – witnessing a space shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, is not something easily forgotten, but for Lauren Edgar, it is the stuff dreams are made of.
The then-second grader, who came to visit her grandmother in Florida, left her vacation with more than warmth in her heart. Little Lauren’s imagination was on fire. “That moment was pretty significant for me – the realization that there were people on board and they were leaving this planet.”
Lauren began to wonder what else was out there, and thus began her own countdown to a career in space exploration.