posted 09-25-2015 04:58 AM               

Space race on Earth: Astronauts compete in 2,000-mile road rally

A new international space race is set to launch between astronauts from the United States, Brazil, France and India.

But instead of blasting off for the moon or Mars, the space explorers have traded in their rockets for minivans and are racing from Connecticut's capital to Florida's Space Coast.

Former space shuttle astronaut Jon McBride is hitting the road against Marcos Pontes, the first Brazilian astronaut, first Frenchman in space Jean-Loup Chretien and Rakesh Sharma, India's first cosmonaut, in the 9th annual Fireball Run. Dubbed this year the "Space Race," the rally is an 8-day, 2,000-mile (3,200 km) trivia game, where the United States serves as the game board.

posted 09-27-2015 11:45 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by JBoe:
Did anyone meet and get any photos at today's stop in Kent Island, MD?

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There were tasks to complete after checking in but all four — Sharma arrived first, then Chretien, Pontes and McBride — afterward mingled outside with people and were very approachable.

There was a dinner afterward, which I did not attend.

Of course, the real reason for Fireball Run is to raise awareness of missing children - so if you're on Twitter, please retweet and share the missing children posters from my feed, using the hashtags #missing and #haveyouseenme. Some photos I took are also on my feed.

posted 09-28-2015 03:12 AM               

At the stop in Chester, Md. — and presumably at future stops — organizers were selling ($10) a large size card (maybe the size of four trading cards arranged 2x2?) showing all four astronauts participating in this year's Fireball Run. There was a small space for their signature underneath their portrait (blue background, so a gold or silver Sharpie would work best), so that people who wanted their signature could get it without having to resort to using a piece of paper.

posted 09-28-2015 05:08 PM               

• Jon McBride
  
• Marcos Pontes
  
• Jean-Loup Chretien
  
• Rakesh Sharma

posted 09-28-2015 07:46 PM               

They were very amenable to autographs and liked the photographs that I brought.

After the stop at the QAC Visitor's Center, many went to the nearby Fisherman's Inn and had a great seafood feast. It was five stars.

posted 09-29-2015 10:07 AM            

The cars began arriving at about 4:30 p.m. and continued to arrive until about 5:45 p.m.

A table was set up for the four astronauts to sign autographs, however due to the later than planned arrival they were only able to sign for about 20 minutes prior to the banquet at 6:30 p.m. at Legacy Hall. Autographs were restricted to a printed card with a picture of each of the astronauts that was available for purchase plus one personal item for each astronaut.