The nation’s space program and Central Florida have been closely linked since the first rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral more than 75 years ago.
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There’s a lot of local space history and current space news to talk about, from Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, the Space Shuttle, SpaceX and Artemis. As part of the Orlando Sentinel’s 150th birthday celebration, the newspaper is hosting a special forum this week to discuss the past, present and future of the region’s connection to the nation’s resurgent space program.
The event will be held Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Orlando Science Center’s newly refurbished 8-story Dome theater.
The event is free to attend, but you must register in advance at OrlandoSentinel.com/RSVP.
Members of our space panel include:
• Dr. Philip Metzger, now at UCF and Director, of the Stephen W. Hawking Center for Microgravity Research & Education. He was formerly with NASA and cofounder of KSC’s Swamp Works innovation program.
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• James Draper, Director of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
• Derrol Nail with NASA Communications, who has been the space agency’s voice of launches including Artemis I and II from Kennedy Space Center on the agency’s broadcasts. He grew up in Cocoa Beach and was formerly a television journalist in Central Florida.
• Richard Tribou, the Sentinel’s Space Editor, who has been covering all aspects of the space program in Florida.
• And former Sentinel photographer Red Huber, whose years’ of coverage of the space program earned him special recognition from NASA. Huber will offer a special presentation of some of his memorable and award-winning photographs of local launches and space missions.
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