Some Big (Space) Shoes to Fill

I had the honor last week of receiving the AIAA Greater Huntsville Section 's Hermann Oberth award. It's a bit surreal – past recipients include a former NASA administrator, three Marshall Space Flight Center directors and two astronauts, among many many other incredibly accomplished people. (That black and white picture is Wernher von Braun with his Oberth Award and Hermann Oberth.) One of those astronauts, Bob Stewart, presented me with my award at the dinner.

It was made even more special by the fact that I was the last award recepient of the night, and the first was my brother Matthew Hitt, receiving the section's early career award.

But the part that really struck me was that one of the past recipients was Owen Garriott, to whom I owe even being considered for an award like this – so much of what I've accomplished in my career is built on the foundation of working with Owen on Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story. It's made that bronze bust as much of a challenge as it is an honor – what can I do to follow his footsteps to inspire and foster a future Oberth winner as well?