NASA Astronaut STUNS El Paso Crowd with Shocking Childhood Story at Science Festival — You Won’t Believe How He Made It to Space!

In a jaw-dropping moment that left the entire city of El Paso buzzing, former NASA astronaut José Hernández took the stage this weekend at the 2nd Annual El Paso Science Festival — and what he revealed shocked everyone. Speaking to a crowd of curious young minds and future scientists, Hernández didn’t just talk about space. He opened up about growing up in a migrant farmworker family, picking crops in California, and failing multiple times before finally becoming an astronaut. “I applied to NASA 11 times,” he told the audience, “and they said no 10 times before I finally got a yes.” 📡 The festival, which took place April 5–6, turned downtown El Paso into a hub of innovation and excitement, with interactive exhibits, mind-blowing science experiments, and hands-on demos that had kids (and their parents) wide-eyed with wonder. But nothing compared to the impact of Hernández’s story. Parents cried. Kids clapped. Teachers said they’d never seen students so inspired. Social media exploded with photos and quotes from his speech, with one post getting over 50,000 shares overnight. 🚀 "If you dream big and work hard, you can reach the stars — literally," Hernández said, pointing to the sky. This wasn’t just a science festival — it was a launchpad for the dreams of a new generation in El Paso. And for many, it will be the moment they decided they were going to space too.