U.S. Army Col. Anne McClain, the Lilac City’s local astronaut, will lead a team of four on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission expected to take off Wednesday, March 12, 2025, for a rendezvous in orbit with the International Space Station.
As a preschooler, she set her mind to becoming an astronaut. Now, a big part of her mission is talking to young people about space, science and service.
The Army lieutenant colonel, a G Prep alumnus from the class of 1997, steered clear of the controversy surrounding her talk, instead taking students on a visual journey following her through space and urging them to not fall victim to their insecurities.
Like many children, Anne McClain wanted to be an astronaut when she grew up. It’s a dream that falls by the wayside for most, but McClain stuck with it and made it happen.
In preschool, Anne McClain wrote and illustrated a book depicting a family of four going to a store, buying rockets and suits, and flying up into outer space. Fast forward about 30 years, one Army career and 18 months of suspense, McClain is about to make her 4-year-old self’s dreams come true.
