From left to right: Michelle Fitzgerald, Travis Fitzgerald, Holly Griffith, Dennis Bonilla, Eric Geller.

Today on the Fan Stage at Celebration VI, I had the pleasure of co-hosting a panel entitled “Star Wars and NASA: Science Fiction and Science Fact,” with Holly Griffith, a friend of mine who works as an International Space Station flight controller for NASA Mission Control in Houston, TX. Holly and I were joined by Travis and Michelle Fitzgerald, two fellow flight controllers on the ISS, and Dennis Bonilla, an open government consultant who works with NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. As befits such a great lineup of smart and talented space geeks (I’m excluding myself, of course!), our panel filled the 840-seat Fan Stage! (more…)