Actor Rock Star Stands Up for Houston’s Space Center

Actor/rocker Gary Sinise once again picked up his guitar for Space Center Houston, on this evening celebrating the science and space learning center’s 25th anniversary. The star, who played an astronaut in the film Apollo 13, and his Lt. Dan Band ignited a dancing frenzy among the 600 guests partying at the Hilton Americas-Houston, just as they did at last year’s Galaxy Gala.

While the music was enticing, it was the entrancing array of artifacts from Space Center Houston and Johnson Space Center that most guests will remember long after the party. The display included a rare meteorite, a Spidernaut, an exoskeleton and a hybrid reality technology demonstration used to train astronauts, and, of course, the astronaut suit photo opp. Add the parade of spacesuits from the stage to the space age immersion.

Applause, applause for chairs Alice and Keith Mosing and Kim and Dan Tutcher, along with honorary chairs astronaut Scott Kelly and Amiko Kauderer, for the rollicking night that brought in $850,000 for the Manned Space Flight Education Foundation.

The evening honored Susie and Pat Cunningham for their longtime support of the center. Joining them in the spotlight were NASA supernovas: Johnson Space Center director and astronaut Ellen Ochoa, JSC associate director Melanie Saunders, astronauts Mike Foreman and Bob Behnken, and Apollo and Gemini flight director Gene Kranz.

Space cadets: Retired astronaut Walt Cunningham and wife Dot, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Lisa and Jerry Simon, Joy and Stewart Morris Jr., Hallie Vanderhider, Gracie and Bob Cavnar, Betsy and Fred Griffin, Joan and Larry Del Papa, Walter Johnson, Gena and Chuck Norris, and John Poindexter.