When former House Speaker Newt Gingrich proposed a lunar colony in 2012, the idea was met with ridicule across the media. Lost in the laughter was an important direction for America's future in space: permanent settlement. In the first part of her presentation, Kellie Gerardi will cover the present and future of U.S space enterprise, exploring how we as a country can create opportunities for the average citizen in space.

Event Date: 10/22/2014

The loss of the Space shuttle Colombia was a shock to the nation but especially to the leadership of NASA who believed that they were providing strong protection against just such an event. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board went beyond the technical causes of the accident to the cultural history and human factors which lead to catastrophe. After Colombia, Wayne Hale was appointed to leadership in the Space Shuttle program with the instructions to not merely correct the technical problems but also address the management culture. Hale has briefly described the history and management culture at NASA prior to Colombia and then delve into the changes - both technical and human - that were made as the space shuttle was returned to flight. These changes affect NASA today as it gears up for the next phase of deep space exploration.

Event Date: 9/11/2014

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990 and was serviced by astronauts onboard the Space Shuttle five times. This talk will focus on the final Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission, STS-125, which took place in May 2009 on-board Space Shuttle Atlantis. During that mission the crew upgraded the telescope through a series of five spacewalks, setting a record for spacewalking time on a single space shuttle mission. The spacewalks included the first-ever repair in place of Hubble science instruments.

Event Date: 03/13/2014