Lifelong Scholar Society March 13 Presentation Discusses Sailing Spacecraft into Deep Space

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology’s Lifelong Scholar Society will present Don Platt and a discussion of his current project, the Sunjammer, March 13 at 6 p.m. His lecture, at the Harris Community Auditorium, next door to the Foosaner Art Museum in downtown Eau Gallie, will be on his project  to send a small spacecraft with a 200-foot sail into deep space, using the same techniques of sailing a ship on Earth’s oceans.

Platt is the program director of Florida Tech’s Human Centered Design Institute and president of his own engineering consulting business, Micro Aerospace Solutions Inc. He previously was a flight experiments engineer and was the lead computer systems engineer for the NASA BIOTUBE experiment that flew on Space Shuttle Columbia.

Tickets for each lecture are $20; or $10 for members. The Lifelong Scholar Society now offers a yearly membership for $35, which includes half-priced tickets to lectures, three dinners at the university’s Panther Dining and a custom name tag. Tickets include a slice of freshly baked pie from Joan’s Perfect Pies located in downtown Eau Gallie at each lecture; refreshments will be served during the 30-minute Q & A discussion segment.

Call (321) 674-8382 or email pdpregistration@fit.edu for more information or to register.