DURHAM — Superintendent Dr. Robert Shaps is pleased to share that Oyster River Cooperative School District (ORCSD) alum and Polaris Dawn Mission Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet was celebrated by the Oyster River community during visits to the Middle and High schools on Nov. 15.
Poteet was a graduate of the Oyster River High School (ORHS) class of 1992. He also attended Oyster River Middle School and Mast Way School. Poteet competed on the Middle and High schools’ Track and Field teams and contributed to the student-run publication “Mouth of the River.”
After graduating from the University of New Hampshire in 1996, Poteet served in the United States Air Force for approximately 20 years, earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Following his Air Force career, Poteet served in various roles at successful aerospace companies including Draken International, where he was Director of Business Development. He was also Vice President of Strategy at Shift4, a payment processing company founded by Jared Isaacman, leader of the Polaris Dawn mission.
The Polaris Dawn mission launched on Sept. 10 and lasted approximately five days. The space mission marks the furthest humans have traveled into space since NASA’s Apollo Program, which concluded in 1972.
Poteet returned to Oyster River just one month after his space expedition to share his journey with students and staff. During his visit, he gave inspiring presentations to middle and high school students of all grade levels followed by Question and Answer sessions. At ORHS, he also took part in a meet and greet with students and staff members and visited an Astronomy class.
“Returning to Oyster River to give a presentation on my journey to space feels like coming full circle,” said Poteet. “It’s a chance to inspire the next generation, just as I was once inspired in these very halls. I would have never achieved my goal of becoming an astronaut without the education I received here.”
A visit to both ORCSD elementary schools, Mast Way School and Moharimet School, is planned for the spring of 2025.
“We are grateful for Mr. Poteet’s generosity and his commitment to visit all four Oyster River schools. We take great pride in knowing that ORCSD played a part in nurturing Scott’s extraordinary journey,” said Superintendent Shaps. “His success reminds us that with determination, vision, and ambition our wildest dreams can take flight.”
About the Polaris Program
In 2022, Poteet was selected to be the spacecraft pilot of the Polaris Dawn mission, the first of three missions carried out by SpaceX aiming to test new technologies that advance progress in making other planets habitable and workable for humans.
During the mission, Poteet and three other crew members conducted roughly 40 science experiments focused on the mission’s four main objectives: high altitude, in-space communications, health impact research, and completing the first-ever commercial spacewalk using SpaceX’s Extravehicular Activity suits.
This mission occurred five months after Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian mission to space, for which Poteet served as Mission Director. The mission helped raise more than $240 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help treat and eradicate childhood cancer. Poteet was also featured in a docuseries produced by Netflix about the mission, “Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space.”
Poteet spoke about his career and experience in space to ORMS students in the Morse Recital Hall. (Photo Courtesy of Oyster River Cooperative School District) 
During his visit, Poteet was interviewed by senior Ulysses Smith for “Mouth of the River,” the student-run paper that Poteet also wrote for as a student. (Photo Courtesy of Oyster River Cooperative School District) 
Poteet visited an ORHS Astronomy class where he talked about his career and journey to space. (Photo Courtesy of Oyster River Cooperative School District)
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