Five former astronauts will be honored at Western Fantasy, an annual gala that has raised more than $14 million for charity since its inception in 1994. More than 1,200 people are expected to attend the event Saturday evening at the National Western Events Center.
The appearances by former astronauts Scott Carpenter, Charlie Duke, Bruce McCandless, Brian Duffy and Dan Brandenstein will highlight Colorado as a space mecca. With 157,000 space-related jobs, Colorado has the nation’s third-largest aerospace economy, after California and Texas. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon have operations here. McCandless, Duffy and Brandenstein work at Lockheed. Duke was the 10th man on the moon.
Carpenter, a resident of Vail and a Boulder native, was one of the original seven Mercury astronauts and flew the second American-manned orbital flight in 1962. Western Fantasy benefits Volunteers of America as well as Post-News Charities and CW2 Gives, which are funds of the McCormick Tribune Foundation.
