Project Tektite

Lameshur Bay in Virgin Islands National Park on St. John in the US Virgin Islands has long been a place of exploration and learning. An iconic element of its history includes the Tektite program of 1969 and 1970 which was a private public partnership between the likes of GE, NASA, US Navy, Department of the Interior and others, and the first scientists-in-the-sea program sponsored nationally.

In an effort to capture this exciting element of history on St. John and inspire our youth to become the next generation of explorers, marine scientists and physicists, Friends of Virgin Islands National Park is sponsoring and helping produce a documentary on the Tektite program. The documentary, Project Tektite: America’s Undersea Space Program, will anchor an outreach and education program highlighting the marvels of the deep sea, deep space connection and the program’s legacy.

The documentary film makers are long time St. John residents, Steve Simonsen and William Stelzer. Experienced film makers, videographers and photographers, they have been collecting Tektite material and recording interviews with the Tektite crew for over 15 years. The story will be told in honor of the late Randy Brown and the late Bruce Schoonover whose research work on the history of Tektite was the genesis for this documentary.