FOR most, travelling beyond planet Earth is something they can only imagine and dream of. But for one space-mad Belter, it became something of a reality... twice!

Learning support teacher David Grigor, 41, was hand-picked from more than 1,000 applicants as only one of 16 recipients of a prestigious scholarship at the NASA Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, last month.

While completing the six-day 'advanced space academy for educators programme, David - who collects space memorabilia - took part in simulated missions, was given exclusive tours around world-famous Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and received highly-intensive 'astronaut-style' training.

He also took part in various physical teamwork exercises, received classroom and workshop tutoring, experienced walking without gravity and tasted space food.

And it was the second time David had ventured on a star trek to the Space and Rocket Center - having completed an initial space academy for educators last July that qualified him for the advanced course.

He told the Courier: "Myself and one other chap from Glasgow were the very first Scottish and British guys to have gone out to the space camp. Huntsville is considered the biggest space teaching centre.

"Many people who apply for the scholarship have come from astro-physics or from backgrounds in aviation, so to be able to go onto an advanced course was amazing." His 2009 visit proved to be a huge success for the Lawson Way resident, and he was awarded a 'Right Stuff' medal after being chosen from his team of 18 international teachers. The award meant that David had a scholarship for the Space and Rocket Center to give to a student of his choice aged between 12 and 14.

He launched a space academy art competition - the first of its kind in Scotland - in partnership with Dirleton resident Gordon Duncan, who runs the county-based Accessible Art Company. The winner of the scholarship was a student from Highland school Fortrose Academy.

David believes the contest was the driving force behind his acceptance to the advanced educators' course this year.

He now hopes to use his "amazing" experiences to become a leading space educator in Scotland - taking his galactic knowledge into classrooms across the country and teaching youngsters about outer space and how to become an astronaut.

David, who works at a Borders secondary school, said: "I want to see this develop into a career for me as a lead space educator for Scotland.

"Having been there (Huntsville), it now allows us to teach in the community with a whole range of resources and experiences and experiments, to children.

"We have now done and seen a lot that the average teacher, or person, hasn't. This breaks the boundaries of Curriculum for Excellence.

"Anything to do with space can be used within any theme, within any subject area, from music and drama to maths, science and technology, and it's linked into every possible avenue that you can imagine."