Astronaut Visit, Space Exploration, and Research Updates Highlight Activities at Penn State

2 July 2001-- Astronaut Visit, Space Exploration and Research Updates Highlight Activities at Penn State Former U.S. astronaut Guion Bluford, a Penn State graduate and the first African American in space, will present "The Space Shuttle Program and the International Space Station" from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, 12 July, in Foster Auditorium at Pattee Library on the Penn State University Park campus.

His presentation coincides with an ongoing photo exhibit on campus, "Sightseeing: A Space Panorama," which features images taken by astronauts during the Apollo and Gemini missions as well as photographs from various Space Shuttle missions and Skylab. That exhibit continues through August at two different locations on campus, the HUB-Robeson Art Alley and the Pattee Library Exhibit Area. Along with the photographs, the HUB-Robeson Art Alley location includes highlights and information about NASA research conducted by the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State and the Pattee Library Exhibit Area includes information about Penn State astronauts.

Another special program will be presented the same week as Bluford's visit to campus. "Artistic Space Exploration for the Whole Family" will be presented at two different locations and times0:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 11 July, at the HUB-Robeson Art Alley and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, 13 July, at Schlow Memorial Library in State College.

Bluford, a vice president for Logicon, Inc., in Herndon, Va., was selected in the first class of Space Shuttle astronauts in 1978. He first flew into space in 1993 aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. He has participated in several other space flights and has logged more than 688 hours in space. He earned his bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Penn State in 1964.

He also earned doctoral and master's degrees in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Houston. He served 29 years in the U.S. Air Force and recorded more than 5,200 hours of flight time in ten different aircraft. As an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Fellow, he was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997.

He serves on several boards of directors, including the U.S. Space Foundation and the NASA Alumni League. He has been awarded the Depart of Defense's Superior Service and three Meritorious Service medals, and NASA's Distinguished Service, Exceptional Service, and Space Flight medals, among others.

All of the events are sponsored by the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium. For more information, contact Angela Phelps at axp41@psu.edu or (814) 863-3608 or visit http://www.psu.edu/spacegrant/

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