Orion, NASA, and Florida Tech

Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls, 2014

by Kathy Turner and Philina Richardson

After a series of holds and technical issues, NASA successfully launched Orion this morning at 7:05 on its first test flight. Orion is NASA’s newest spacecraft designed to carry astronauts, and is integral in the administration’s goal to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars by 2030.  Described by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden as “the beginning of the Mars era,” today’s launch is our first step toward putting humans on the red planet.

So, in light of this morning’s successful Orion launch, let’s consider two connections between Florida Tech and NASA.

1) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was established in 1958.  Sound familiar?

2) Currently on display in the Evans Library is Americans in Space: From Mercury to Columbia, an exhibition of NASA photographs documenting the history of American manned space flight from the inaugural Mercury launches through the lunar landing and finally to the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia.  Courtesy of Florida Tech’s Foosaner Art Museum is this collection of more than 30 images that tell much about the story of space exploration in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Take a look.

Enjoy the connection!