Odenton Resident a Finalist in 'Space Race'

An Odenton man has reached the final round in a competition to win a ride in a suborbital spacecraft.

Savan Becker will compete in Seattle with four other contestants in a series of mental challenges, after beating out thousands of other entries in the Space Race 2012 Competition.

Becker, an Air Force reservist and space systems analyst for the Department of Defense at Fort Meade, used a vast online social network to reach the finals, as over the last two months.

The public was asked to vote on contestants based on an short introductory video explaining why they wanted to fly into space.

In an email, Becker thanked friends and family for their support.

"The sponsors could not divulge how many votes I received—but they were watching each day and said that I had a 'very strong social network' and it really showed," he wrote. "They said I should tell everyone in it how significant the persistent voting was."

In Becker's entry video, he talks about having a fascination with outer space since he was a boy, and about his desire to pass on his love of space to his two sons. 

The grand prize winner of the Space Race 2012 wins a ride in a suborbital spacecraft that travels 62 miles above Earth. The ride is valued at $110,000.

Check out the Seattle Space Needle website for more information on the Space Race 2012 contest.