Equipment made by N/O BOCES students will be part of moon fly by

Posted 27 October 2025 at 4:38 pm

Photo and information by Niagara/Orleans BOCES

MEDINA – Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering teacher Bill Rakonczay, teacher aide Brianna Peterson and the senior class students at the Orleans Career and Technical Education Center will have equipment they had a hand in fly by the moon on the Artemis II mission.

Four astronauts will venture around the moon as the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence at the moon for science and exploration through Artemis. The 10-day flight will help confirm systems and hardware needed for early human lunar exploration missions.

For several years, the students in Mr. Rakonczay’ s program have made a part for stowage lockers thanks to their partnership with NASA’s HUNCH (High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware) program.

It offers high school students the opportunity to design and prototype solutions to real challenges faced by NASA. It gives the AME students a chance to connect with real-world aerospace projects and add this experience to their resumes and college applications.

On October 21st, NASA’s Dr. Florence Gold, who serves as a project manager and mentor and Loy Trevino, business partner, video and media project manager stopped by the classroom to congratulate them on their hard work.

All in all, 93 parts were made with 100% of them passing inspection. As a thank you, Dr. Gold brought a panel from one of the stowage lockers and allowed students, staff and board of education members the opportunity to sign it. The lockers are designed to hold vital experiments and equipment that the crew will need for their mission.

The class was thrilled to be able to help contribute to the future of space travel and exploration. Congratulations to students Bella Andes (Lockport), Miles Arbegast (Medina), Solangel Baar (Lockport), Elliot Christopher Beyrle (Albion), Aidan Bonnett (Lockport), Deven Bryne (Medina), Dylan Cervinsky (Lockport), Brodie Demmer (Medina), Nickolas Gauvreau (Royalton-Hartland), Austin Guido (Medina), Steven Miles (Royalton-Hartland), Aaden Munn (Barker), Luke James Pollaro (Albion), Tyler Rothwell (Royalton-Hartland), Carson Schwab (Barker), Dasha Taylor (Lockport) and Joshua Zayac (Albion) for all their hard work!