Oklahoma has been a part of America’s journey into space, with its residents contributing to historic missions, including the recent Artemis II deep-space mission. On April 1, Artemis II astronauts returned from the first deep-space mission in more than 50 years. When the hatch of their spacecraft opened, the first person they saw was Navy corpsman James ‘Laddy’ Aldridge from Cushing, Oklahoma.

Oklahoma’s Role in Space Exploration

Aldridge, who is not an astronaut or a NASA member, played an important role in the mission, though he humbly downplays his contribution. ‘I guess nobody really, at least out of our team, didn’t really understand, the gravity — pun intended — of the situation,’ Aldridge said. ‘You know, I mean, we all knew and trained for three years. This is the first time in 50-plus years, the deepest in space we’ve ever gone. It kind of became a job and something that we were training and continuing to get better at every single day.’

Oklahoma’s legacy in space exploration includes other notable figures. Weatherford native General Thomas Stafford was an astronaut during the peak of space exploration and served as the commander of the Apollo X mission. Charlie Dry, another astronaut from Oklahoma, played a significant role in the Apollo program.

Looking to the Future

Oklahoma’s role in space exploration continues to evolve. The spaceport in Burns Flat is set to be part of launching reusable spaceplane experiments, contributing to the future of space travel. As the nation celebrates 250 years, Oklahoma looks forward to infinity and beyond.

Original reporting: Oklahoma City News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.