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He has been all over the world, and even out of it, but Indiana is Kevin Ford’s home. The retired U.S. Air Force colonel and NASA astronaut from Montpelier spoke for over an hour Thursday night to the crowd that had gathered at the Warsaw Community High School Performing Arts Center. Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent David Hoffert welcomed guests before turning the microphone over to 2012 WCHS graduate and current Notre Dame student Nathan Stone, who introduced Ford.

Before the speech, students from Lincoln Elementary School displayed, in the main lobby of the P.A.C., various space-related projects that they had created. The Warsaw Robotics Club was also present, utilizing a machine the group had built to pick up various items.

Ford’s presentation, including a variety of video clips from his various trips to space, showed many fun shots of his crew taking advantage of the zero gravity conditions. He explained that the NASA physical trainers on Earth would send up exercise routines for the crew members to complete utilizing very unique equipment, which made it possible to attain resistance despite the lack of gravity.

Ford also detailed how crew members had to supply blood and urine samples very frequently in order to test their ability to retain calcium while in space. The samples were held in a specially made -80 degree storage chamber.

Ford closed his presentation by discussing returning to Earth after his most recent trip to space: “We went to Kazakhstan and felt at home being back on Earth, then we returned to Houston and felt even more at home but when you get to central Indiana, then you really feel at home.”