AIAA Houston ATS Kickoff with Cdr. Chris Cassidy: Go for EVA – words that all astronauts want to hear!

AIAA Houston welcomes Commander Chris Cassidy to kickoff our Annual Technical Symposium with his presentation, “Go for EVA – words that all astronauts want to hear!” Before becoming an Astronaut, Commander Chris Cassidy served 10 years as a Navy Seal. He made four six-month deployments: two to Afghanistan, and two to the Mediterranean. He deployed to the Afghanistan region two weeks after 9/11/01, served as Ground Assault Force Commander for international and U.S.-only combat missions in Afghanistan, and led two months of noncompliant ship-boardings in the Northern Arabian Gulf. In 2004 Commander Cassidy was selected as an astronaut by NASA. Before completing his first flight, he served as Capsule Communicator(CAPCOM) in Mission Control. Commander Cassidy flew on STS 127 which helped complete the construction of the Japanese Kibo module on the International Space Station. Most recently, Cassidy served as a flight engineer on Expedition 35/36, living and working on the station for more than five months. During his NASA career, Cassidy has completed six spacewalks, totaling 31 hours, 14 minutes and has accumulated 182 days in space.

Please RSVP by choosing a meal (dessert included) below and we will see you on May 8th to kick off our Annual Technical Symposium!

 

Tortellini:


AIAA/INCOSE/Student/Non-Member



Parmesan Chicken:


AIAA/INCOSE/Student/Non-Member



 

Walk In Registration:

 

No Meal Options:

 

Special Collaboration Event: SWAPRA Luncheon Speaker: Gene Kranz, Former NASA Flight Director

AIAA Houston Section in collaboration with the South Western Aerospace Professional Representatives Association (SWAPRA) invites you to a luncheon with a special speaker, Mr. Gene Kranz, Former NASA Flight Director. His talk, “Failure is Not an Option” will be at Bay Oaks Country Club on January 29th, 2014 at 11:30am and will discuss the Apollo 13 crisis, the stresses and challenges, and how it was all overcome.

As this is a plated luncheon hosted by SWAPRA, RSVP and payment are required as described in the two steps below.

Step 1.) RSVP to Chris Elkins at celkins@atec.com or call at 281-276-2792

Step 2.) Non-Members must pay according to the following fee schedule at the PayPal link below:

Fee Schedule:

Free for SWAPRA Members (included in dues)

$25.00 for Non-members and pre-paid by 27 January 2014

$35.00 for Non-members at the door (IF seating is available)

PayPal™ Payment Link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=M5WGA4HE6STMW

 

Speaker’s Biography:

Eugene F. Kranz was born in Toledo, Ohio, on August 17, 1933. He was schooled at Parks College of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1954 and received a BS in aeronautical engineering. Before his work with NASA, he was an Air Force captain (1955-1958), flight test loads engineer, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation (1954-1955), pilot in U.S. Air Force (1955-1958), and flight test engineer and supervisor of carrier and missile system flight test maintenance and checkout at the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation at the Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico (1958-1960). He joined NASA in 1960 in the Flight Control Operations Branch, NASA Space Task Group, at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia (1960-1964). In time he rose to become chief of the Flight Control Operations Branch, Mercury assistant flight director, Gemini flight director (1964-1968), chief of the Flight Control Division, Apollo flight director, and Skylab flight operations director (1969-1974), deputy director of flight operations, Space Transportation System (STS) mission operations director (1974-1983), and finally eirector of mission operations of the STS (1983-1994).

 

Gene Kranz’s presentation will include:

As the leader of the “Tiger Team” of flight directors who brought the Apollo 13 spacecraft safely back to Earth on April 17, 1970, Gene Kranz demonstrated extraordinary courage and heroism. An extraordinarily gifted leader and motivator, Kranz inspired his Tiger Team to hold fast to the highest standards possible. Together, they struggled to devise the plan that would safely bring the ship and its crew of three astronauts home after its oxygen system failed.

“Failure is not an option,” the motto that carried him through the Apollo 13 crisis, is a major theme of his motivational speeches today. Kranz speaks with passion and pride about the NASA employees who formed his mission teams—teams that worked hard and made history in the 1960s and ‘70s. He explains that his flight directors were young engineers and scientists, most of them in their twenties, having come to NASA fresh out of school with little work experience, but with abundant energy, and the will to succeed at one of humankind’s most challenging endeavors: space exploration.

The Apollo 13 crisis pushed Kranz and his team to the brink of fear and doubt, but they refused to give in to these emotions or to succumb to panic. Instead, under his leadership, they worked together to save the imperiled spacecraft, and brought the ship and crew safely home. Kranz speaks with a raw brilliance about the challenges and problems that they successfully faced and overcame, giving his audiences the inspiration that they need to face down challenges and adversity in their own lives and careers.

 

Schedule

11:30—12:00 Networking

12:00—1:00 Lunch and Program

 

Location:

Bay Oaks Country Club

14545 Bay Oaks Blvd.

Houston (Clear Lake City), TX 77059

 

Further information on South Western Aerospace Professional Representative Association (SWAPRA) – http://www.linkedin.com/groups/South-Western-Aerospace-Professional-Representatives-4766003

 

Please send any questions or comments about the event to Chris Elkins at celkins@atec.com or call at 281-276-2792