Hutchinson ? Four former astronauts will attend the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Hutchinson Planetarium, which became the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center.

Astronauts Charlie Duke, Harrison Schmitt, Joe Engle and Steve Hawley will discuss their space missions during an April 28 celebration at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson.

The Hutchinson News reports the celebration is a tribute to Patty Carey, the driving force behind the creation of the planetarium and its development into the Cosmosphere. She died in 2003.

The celebration coincides with “Lift-Off,” a three-year campaign to raise $1.6 million to improve and expand the facility.