One brother is a facts-and-figures guy, the other an adventurer.
They’re both deeply fascinated by all things space.
Mikey and Robbie Rouse, 15 and 16, are from Salem, Virginia, and both have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive condition that affects nearly all their voluntary muscles.
On a recent trip to Hampton, Virginia, they visited one of the birthplaces of the American space program — NASA’s Langley Research Center.
Mikey, the adventurer, wants to be the first wheelchair astronaut. “And I want to go to Mars,” he said during his visit.
Robbie, the facts-and-figures guy, is always thinking of safety first — a quality held sacred by all at NASA.
The brothers’ visit to Langley included a tour of the center’s hangar, a stop at the Flight Mission Support Center for the ozone-monitoring Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III, and presentations on the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator, autonomous technologies, and tests at the Landing and Impact Research Facility.
Deputy Center Director Clayton Turner and Associate Director Cathy Mangum presented Mikey and Robbie with commemorative coins and copies of “A Century at Langley,” a pictoral history of the center.
No subject raised during the visit failed to spark the boys’ curiosity.
Steve Velotas, associate director for intelligent flight systems, talked with Mikey and Robbie about the ways in which Langley researchers are studying autonmous technologies. Autonomous systems could be used in unmanned aerial vehicles, in-space assembly robots, or even wheelchairs to help those with disabilities navigate more easily.
“I don’t trust robots completely,” Mikey said.
“We don’t either,” said Velotas, who then explained that part of the reason Langley scientists are studying autonomous systems is to make sure they work like people want them to.
Evan Horowitz, structures and mechanical systems airworthiness engineer, showed the brothers Langley’s historic hangar and talked about some of the past and present missions the facility has supported.
Gemini and Apollo astronauts trained in the hangar’s Rendezvous Docking Simulator, and aircraft used for airborne science studies and autonomous flight research are based there.
Mikey and Robbie peppered Horowitz, who often takes tour groups through the hangar, with questions about air pollution and habitable exoplanets.
“This is great,” said Horowitz. “Best interaction I’ve had in months.”
The previous day, Mikey and Robbie visited the Virginia Air & Space Center, Langley’s official visitors center.
The brothers live with their great-grandmother in Salem and receive daily assistance from a nonprofit called Lutheran Family Services of Virginia. The trip to Hampton was organized by Julie’s Abundance Project, a program of Lutheran Family Services of Virginia.
Joe Atkinson
NASA Langley Research Center
