Blue Hills Unveils Display Case of Artifacts from Career of 1983 Graduate NASA Astronaut Scott Tingle
As he prepares for another space mission, astronaut Scott Tingle returned home to Blue Hills Regional Technical School on Monday, Aug. 25. The school unveiled a new display case in the lobby containing artifacts and memorabilia from his career in the military and at NASA.
As students return for class next Tuesday, they will be greeted by an 8-foot-by-9-foot exhibit showcasing the career of Commander Scott Tingle.
The collection includes flight suits, photographs, a helmet and boots. Two other items on display — a model of the International Space Station and a wooden box — were both made by students at Blue Hills, and Tingle took the items with him on his journey to the multinational space laboratory in 2018.
Tingle, a Randolph native, graduated from Blue Hills Regional Technical School in 1983, before moving on to UMass Dartmouth, earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in the same subject from Purdue University. Tingle later became a U.S. Navy captain and pilot, before ultimately becoming a NASA astronaut, leading him to serve as a flight engineer on the International Space Station for Expedition 54/55.
“Commander Tingle’s story reminds our students that with hard work, determination and perseverance, there is no limit to what you can achieve,” said Superintendent-Director Jill Rossetti. “He has shown us that a path started right here at Blue Hills can quite literally take you out of this world.”
Tingle said he was honored by the display and he hopes it will inspire students at Blue Hills Regional Technical School to achieve their dreams.
“Whether you’re on the battlefield or the football field, or if you’re in shop class or math class, or the floor of General Dynamics or the surface of the moon, Blue Hills Warriors will succeed through perseverance,” he said. “The folks who graduate here and become alumni embody that spirit, that spirit you all teach. I really appreciate you guys putting this all together and giving me the opportunity to participate, to give back and inspire future Warriors of our community.”
Tingle, who specialized in machine drafting during his time at the school, said his time at Blue Hills shaped him and the trajectory of his career.
“It really laid the groundwork for me for getting through college, the military and my career,” Tingle said. “The people who teach here teach in reality. People who come out of this school come out with a good dose of reality. It’s where the rubber hits the road. That’s where I think the value added is here.”
Tingle, who currently lives in League City, Texas, was joined for the unveiling of the display case at Blue Hills by his wife, Raynette, his sister-in-law, Maureen, and his mother, Sheila.
“This school is absolutely superb,” Sheila Tingle said. “Scott’s younger brother took welding here. Later on, his employers always said to him, ‘Wherever you went to school, they taught safety.’ They really do a good job of teaching the students here. It was very influential on Scott. I can’t say enough.”
Tingle is now the commander of the Starliner-2 mission, preparing for another potential trip to space in 2026. If the mission goes ahead, Tingle will return to the International Space Station for six to eight months.
This week, Tingle is returning to Texas to train as part of that mission, participating in simulator training, together with flight controllers, mission controllers and flight directors.
“They’ll throw tons of emergencies at us,” he said. “They’ll break all kinds of systems and it’s up to the team to figure it out together if we can actually dock safely and make it happen.”
