BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – The countdown begins. NASA’s Artemis I mission is on track for Monday morning if all systems are a go. And the daughter of an Artemis I project engineer who died in April will have the chance to see the results of her father’s work.
The most powerful rocket to ever launch from the Kennedy Space Center will be headed to the Moon.
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The historic launch will garner thousands of spectators, but it will be a symbol of both heartbreak and joy for one family.
20-year-old Chloe Stack is the daughter of Peter Stack. He was a senior engineer for a company called SEV-1 Tech, a contractor for NASA.
The family said Peter Stack died unexpectedly and of natural causes back in April.
“There’s really no way to describe the feeling if you haven’t gone through it before,” Chloe said. “I think losing a parent at such a young age is very difficult.”
After her father’s death, Chloe said his company treated her like family. SEV-1 Tech will fly in Chloe and her siblings Sunday.
She told News 6 the company rented a beach house in Cocoa Beach, which is where they will watch the launch up close.
“We’re definitely excited to watch the launch, being that none of us have seen anything like this before, and we’re really excited to stand there in place of my dad because we know he would have really loved to see something like this,” Chloe said.
Chloe said that in May, the company also hired her as a marketing intern and planned to hire her full-time after she graduates from Kennesaw State University in Georgia. She feels like this will allow her to continue her father’s legacy.
Chloe described her dad as a man of few words but said he played a vital role in the Artemis project.
“I’ve been told by his coworkers and so many people that they couldn’t have done it without him,” Chloe said.
When watching the rocket rise into the air, Chloe said her dad will go up with it.
While wiping tears from her eyes, Chloe said that if she had the opportunity to say one final thing to her father, she would say, “Thank you.”
“He has given me every opportunity to receive the education I have received, and he has been my main motivation,” she said. “I would definitely say a big thank you.”
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