Status: Available

The Space Program

How We Got To Where We're Going

Moderator: Wendy Parrish

Details

DESCRIPTION:

This seminar offers an in-depth discussion of the space program: the past, the present, and the future. Most of the focus will be on the US program, but we welcome information about other nations’ programs. Topics can run the gamut:

the early development of spacecraft
how the US was able to land on the Moon less than years after proposing it
the Shuttle program
the Space Station
what’s going on now
politics and the space program
space-related incidents

No space-related topic is off the table. The moderator is happy to assist with finding a topic and materials.

ROLE OF PARTICIPANTS: Each participant should be prepared to present an aspect of the space program. We’ll try to order the presentations as they occurred in history. Participants can use PowerPoint, share pictures and give a talk, or submit material ahead of time for people to think about, research, and discuss.

RESOURCES:

None required, but suggested works include:

From the Earth to the Moon (DVD set from the 90’s)
White, Rowland, Into the Black, Bantam Press, 2016 (about the Shuttle program)
Weir, Andy, The Martian, Crown, 2014 (fiction with good science about the space program and a movie)
Apollo 13 (movie)
Davenport, Christian, The Space Barons, PublicAffairs, 2018 (about the new corporate space companies)

Most of these are available from the library or your video distributor of choice.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR: Wendy Parrish spent nearly 30 years working for the space program near the Johnson Space Center, ending as a lead programmer for one of the Space Shuttle’s onboard computers.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Afternoon seminars meet from 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm.