The Challenger Learning Center of Maine has received $750,000 through a federal omnibus appropriations bill passed last week, according to organizers for the middle school space simulation center.

Due to open this fall at the Dow Air Force Base theater in Bangor, the center is one of 44 across the country created to honor the astronauts who lost their lives in the 1986 space shuttle disaster.

As part of the center’s fast-paced space simulations, which closely parallel NASA’s training, pupils in grades five-eight statewide will take on the roles of astronauts, aerospace engineers and mission leaders.

In the first program, which will involve the “Rendezvous with a Comet” scenario, pupils will apply their math and science lessons and work in teams to plot a course, land on a comet and collect surface samples for scientific analysis. The program can help students meet learning standards and think creatively, and will encourage them to pursue science and math-based educational and career opportunities, according to Bill Buckley, a Bangor businessman and president of Challenger’s board of directors.