The spacecraft Orion lifts off aboard a ULA Delta IV Heavy rocket Friday, December 5, 2014 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo By Brent Lewis/The Denver Post)
Students interested in aerospace engineering have the rare opportunity Friday to learn from Coloradans who are on the front lines of NASA’s Orion mission.
Engineers and scientists from Centennial-based and Littleton-based will share their experiences designing, building, testing and launching NASA’s Orion spacecraft at two public presentations Friday, Feb. 6 in Highlands Ranch : one at 4 p.m. for middle and high school students and one a 6 p.m. for advanced engineering students. Presenting will be Larry Price, Lockheed Martin’s Orion deputy program manager, and ULA engineers Katie Bair and Kyle Whitlow.
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2014: United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno speaks to the media in front of the spacecraft Orion awaiting launch at Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base. Behind him is NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. (Photo By Brent Lewis/The Denver Post)
Orion blasted off aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket on Dec. 6, 2014 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The was the first time a human-rated spacecraft had ventured into deep space since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. One of the major tests during EFT-1 was the performance of the spacecraft’s heat shield, which was designed and engineered on Lockheed Martin Space Systems’ Waterton Canyon campus. The shield protects the spacecraft upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
The forum will be at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1050 Plaza Drive, Highlands Ranch. and attendance will be capped at 250 for each presentation. There will be an open-to-the-public meet and greet with ULA and Lockheed Martin at , 8773 South Ridgeline Boulevard.
Colorado is first in the country for per capita private-sector aerospace industry employment and has the nation’s third overall aerospace economy, per the .
