Monthly Meeting | NoCoAstro

The Monday October 3rd meeting will be held at the Fort Collins Museum Of Discover in the Otterbox Dome Theater. The meeting officially starts at 6:15pm but feel free to show up early for social time ... and snacks.

Loren J. Shriver - Astronaut on Space Shuttle Missions STS-51C, 31, 46

Speaker: Loren Shriver (Colonel, USAF Retired), began his professional career at the U.S. Air Force Academy Prep School in 1962, and spent 49 years in four distinct career segments. During his early Air Force career he went to graduate school, completed Air Force Pilot Training, served as an Instructor Pilot, Fighter Pilot in Viet Nam/Thailand, (Viet Nam Veteran), completed Air Force Test Pilot School and flew several aircraft test projects including the F-15. In 1978, he was selected by NASA to become a Space Shuttle Pilot Astronaut and flew three Space Shuttle Missions, STS 51-C in 1985, STS 31 in 1990, and STS 46 in 1992. In 1993, he retired from the Air Force, completed his service as an Astronaut, and entered Civil Service with NASA. He held Operations Management positions in the Space Shuttle Program Office and was Deputy Center Director for Launch and Payload Processing at the Kennedy Space Center. In 2000, he retired from NASA, and worked for United Space Alliance, as Vice President and Deputy Space Shuttle Program Manager, and later as Vice President of Engineering and Integration, and Chief Technology Officer. In February of 2011, Loren retired again (fully this time) as the Space Shuttle Program ended.

Synopsis: Former Astronaut Loren Shriver will provide an overview of his second Space Shuttle mission, flown in April of 1990, during which the Space Shuttle crew deployed the Hubble Space Telescope in a 330 nautical mile orbit around the Earth. Col. Shriver will describe the process and actions performed by the crew to activate and release the Hubble Telescope, which is still operating in space today. He will show a video of the highlights of the mission, which enabled a new era of investigation of our universe.

Monthly Meeting General Info

Regular club meetings are currently held at the Otterbox Digital Dome Theater in the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, and are scheduled for the 1st Thursday of every month. Please verify the meeting date and location on the calendar and find out what we have planned. The business portion of the meeting is scheduled for 15 minutes starting at 6:15pm although members often show up early for social time ... and snacks. :-) Regular topics include:

Announcements on upcoming NCAS events: speakers, stargazing, outreaching, etc.
Brief updates from the club president, treasurer and outreach coordinator.
Items of general interest as shared by members and visitors.

After the business meeting, speakers present an astronomy-related program beginning at 6:30pm. It is free of charge and the public is welcome. Talks are typically geared towards people with a high-school science background but the level does vary. Feel free to contact a club officer for guidance if the target level is not apparent from the talk description. Talks typically last for 45 minutes. Questions are usually welcome both during and after the talk.

NoCoAstro invites speakers to be our guest for dinner immediately after the club meeting. Dinner details are sent to the “club-news” email list shortly before the meeting. Dinner provides a great opportunity to welcome and get to know our speaker. Typically ~10 club members usually attend.

NoCoAstro greatly appreciates the members and experts in the Northern Colorado region who have taken the time to share their knowledge with the public and the club.

Past Presentations

Below is a table you can sort and search containing a list of the past speakers at NoCoAstro’s Monthly Meetings.