A spacecraft donation from NASA is giving Texas State Technical College Harlingen students a leg up in their careers.

NASA donated an X-38 spacecraft to the school back in 2016.

For Valley residents like Adrian Nacianceno, an opportunity to work on a spacecraft is something he never would’ve imagined.

“Here, since in the Valley we don’t have that much opportunity, it’s been great,” Nacianceno said. “It’s a great opportunity and we would like to keep pushing forward, keep learning more as much as we can.”

The X-38 was donated to try to inspire students to pursue careers in the aerospace industry.

“The private space race that’s going on around us all the time, right now, I want my students to be a part of it,” said Leo Guajardo, head instructor of the aviation maintenance program.

Guajardo says he is confident that having something like this on students’ resumés will get them jobs they not have been considered for otherwise.