MOUNTOURSVILLE, LYCOMING COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — It’s an awestruck moment of the Psyche Spacecraft taking off in Florida on October 13th.
The woman recording the video is Lisa Novotny, cheering along after a successful launch.
“You could just hear the emotion and it was just one of those almost indescribable events, just wonderful.”
Novotny’s a first grade teacher at Donald E. Schick Elementary School in Loyalsock Township, but she’s been a space enthusiast her entire life, working toward her dream of witnessing a NASA mission.
“In 2020, I was invited to go see the Orion, which is a space capsule that takes folks to the moon. That’s part of the Artemis mission, but the pandemic hit so that was shut down.”
Fast forward three years, and she got a second chance at her wish to join the ‘NASA Social’ program that brings in digital content creators. Experiencing the spacecraft’s mission to study an asteroid.
“Folks that I met, they were space enthusiasts, they were from all over the country as well as all around the world. Brazil, Spain, Canada, and I felt very honored to be able to represent the school district.”
Bringing the out-of-this-world experience back to the classroom, she says her students were so excited to hear about her trip and learn about space.
“One of them said, ‘Why did you want to go see a rocket launch?’ you know it was genuinely asked and I just said, ‘That’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little girl, right about your age.’”
The Loyalsock Township teacher says her biggest takeaway from the mission is to keep trying and believe in yourself to live out your dreams.
