Dr. Tony England, former NASA astronaut with the Apollo 13 and Apollo 16 Missions, and Spacelab2, will highlight the beginning of the U.S. Space Program, discuss the drivers, evolution, and future of NASA’s programs, including the current growing privatization of space exploration and human missions to Mars. England will also share personal stories from the Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs.

Dr. England will explain that NASA, beginning with the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, was created to promote U.S. leadership in air and space. Addressing this mission has required managing tensions between investments in technology versus space operations, between military and civilian interests, between robotic and human missions, between space science and the health of aerospace industries, and between perceptions of achievement and actual achievement. Because these tensions are resolved politically, NASA program stability is often at risk with changes in political leadership.

Tony England was the NASA astronaut who wrote the procedure to build the CO2 scrubber that enabled the astronauts to return safely to Earth. For their extraordinary work, England and the rest of the team received the President’s Medal of Freedom.

He is currently the Dean and Professor at The University of Michigan’s-Dearborn College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Free Admission. Free Parking. Reception follows program.