Woman ‘in orbit’ over win in NASA contest

Kayla LaFrance’s license plate reads “On2Mars,” and Monday morning, the 2003 Central Valley High School graduate took one small step closer to her dream.

LaFrance was notified Monday that her 30-second video had won NASA’s Greatest Fan video contest. The contest was limited to the first 1,500 entrants ages 13 to 24. Judges narrowed the field to nine, with the winner chosen by online voting. LaFrance’s video, “Mars Mates Forever,” features still photos set to music.

“I’m already in orbit,” she said after hearing of her win.

Becca Millsap, a junior at Lewis and Clark High School, was also a finalist. “I was very surprised,” the 16-year-old said. “The sheer improbability of having two finalists from Spokane is amazing.”

LaFrance and a friend will be treated to a five-day trip to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as VIP guests to witness a space shuttle launch, which may be in December.

LaFrance is an engineering physics major in her senior year at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.

“I grew up watching ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation,’ ” she said.

Her seventh-grade science teacher, Thomas Herman at Greenacres Middle School, offered to show her “what’s really out there,” she said.

He introduced her to the Spokane Astronomical Society, and she was hooked.

“Kayla’s my free spirit,” said her mother, Sue LaFrance, of Greenacres. “She’s not afraid of a challenge and is always reaching.”

Kayla LaFrance has already attended three space camps, including the Future Astronaut Training Program in Hutchinson, Kansas. She is focusing on space technology and already has two design concepts in the works for manned Mars Rovers.

LaFrance credits the Spokane Astronomical Society for encouraging her interests and introducing her to people all over the country who share her passion for space.

“I feel like this is something unique to me. It seems like my destiny,” she said.