Former astronaut returns home to Mpls.

Neil Armstrong memorial
Robert Cabana, the director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center, speaks at a ceremony honoring the life of former NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong at the Apollo/Saturn V Center, Aug. 31, 2012 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, died from complications from heart surgery at the age of 82.
Getty Images/Roberto Gonzalez

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center is returning to his home state to help launch a new initiative.

Bob Cabana is a Minneapolis Washburn High School graduate. He begins the week at Target Field on Sunday.

The former space shuttle astronaut will be on Target Plaza before the game to meet fans, sign autographs and pose for photos before a NASA backdrop. He'll then join University of Minnesota students in launching a balloon from Target Field into the stratosphere to "launch" Minnesota Aerospace & Aviation Week.

Cabana speaks Monday at Washburn High and at the Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet School in St. Paul, and at other events Tuesday.

His visit is organized by AirSpace Minnesota, a new nonprofit created to tell the story of Minnesota's achievements in aerospace and aviation.

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