Lecture Information
Ed is currently a lecturer at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) Academy, Ft. Myers, FL, on the Project Apollo history and Space Exploration Projects. Ed spent ten years working on Project Apollo while employed at the MIT Draper Laboratory. MIT Draper had a contract with NASA to design and develop the Primary Guidance Navigation & Control System (PGNCS) used to control the Apollo Command (CM) and Lunar (LM) Modules during flight. Following short stints at North American Downey – manufacturer of the CM – and Grumman Aircraft – manufacturer of the LM – integrating the initial PGNCS into prototype CM and LM, he became part of the Apollo Guidance Computer mission software development team upon his return to Cambridge whereby he would provide support to NASA personnel during Apollo missions.
Ed and his wife Sandy, currently support their YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@ReachingForTheMoon with current space exploration news and events.
NASA's Artemis Program plans a return to the moon and beyond before the end of 2026 and will include a woman in the crew who would become the first woman to walk on the moon. We discuss NASA's plans for the Artemis Program. NASA has issued a contract to SpaceX to develop the Human Landing System to be used on Artemis. The long-term plan is to build a base on the moon from which to launch explorations to other planetary bodies such as Mars. NASA has issued initial contracts for Lunar Terrain Vehicles which will be used on future Lunar Missions. The initial Artemis I un-crewed launch was accomplished in November 2022. The first crewed Artemis II mission is scheduled for late 2025. When will Artemis finally take astronauts to the Moon? Ed shares with his audience an inside view of the Artemis program and how it differs from the Apollo.
In 2020, three missions were launched from Earth with the destination of Mars. All three missions arrived at Mars in February 2021. The first Mission was by United Arab Emirates named the Hope Probe. The second was by China named the Tianwen-1 Mission. The third was by NASA named the Perseverance. The Hope Probe will remain in orbit and analyze the Mars weather patterns. The Tianwen-1 Probe has an orbiter, a lander and a rover. Perseverance has a lander, rover and helicopter drone. The helicopter drone flew 72 missions on Mars. We will examine the objectives of each mission and provide updates on their accomplishments to date. How soon will we send astronauts to Mars? Ed presents a fascinating discussion about the forefront of space travel and exploration in the 21st century.
Ed will review the Apollo program from the eyes an engineer that helped design the Inertial Navigation System which included the Apollo Flight Computer used by both the Apollo Command and Lunar Modules. He reviews the details of the Apollo 11 Mission - First Manned Landing On the Moon - Apollo 13 - Houston We Have A Problem Mission and Apollo 17 - Last man On The Moon Mission. By the way, the Apollo Spacecraft travelled to and from the moon with a computer that contained only 36K of memory.
UAP is the new name given to what we previously knew as UFO's - Unidentified Analogous Phenomena. Recently UAP's have become a hot topic since a former top security officer became a whistleblower of information that he claimed he was exposed to as a top security officer. In this lecture, we will review major historical UAP/UFO events starting with the July 1947 Roswell, NM incident which has become a cultural phenomenon. Portrayals of the Roswell incident are a prominent and enduring topic in popular culture and mass media commonly associated with "grey aliens" and "flying saucers". The city of Roswell, New Mexico has embraced this association by featuring a little green man on its seal and hosting numerous UFO attractions and events. Recently a major Chinese airport was closed for commercial air traffic because of UAPs sightings. Over 5,000 planets have been identified. Is there life on one of them?
From its beginning, the Space Shuttle was a bold idea. It was a space plane launched as a rocket, unpowered, with one chance to glide safely back to earth. After thirty years of service, the shuttles have come back to earth for good and found new homes in museums across the US. We will revisit the highs and lows of the Space Shuttle Program. Next, we will explore the Russian Space Shuttle Buran. What happened to Buran? Why wasn't it a success? Finally, we will investigate the latest developments in aircraft. Will pilots be replaced by computers?
Spaceflight and exploration have changed tremendously over the past 25 years. This lecture begins with a brief look back at space exploration history: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, International Space Station and the Shuttle. The presentation continues with a review of where we are in space exploration today, looking at the new private spaceflight companies including SpaceX, Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada, United Launch Alliance (Lockheed Martin and Boeing), Virgin Galactic and many others. Finally, we look at what is next including the Moon, Mars, Titan, Jupiter Clipper or some other celestial body. Are we in a new Space Race with China who has announced plans for several new space projects? The European Space Agency has stated at the present time more than 100 missions to the moon are either scheduled or planned by 2030 by various organizations. More than 5000 Exoplanets have been discovered. Will life be found on any planet other than earth?
Ed will develop a custom lecture to meet your requirements of subject, objective and time.
Ed has made many lectures to independent organizations, groups, private and public school systems. His lectures will be tailored to the organization's audience for content and time requirements. Lectures include actual details of Apollo 13 issues as seen from Mission Control Houston – many of these issues were not discussed in the movie. Working closely with the Astronauts during Project Apollo, Ed includes many stories and anecdotes involving and about the Astronauts during his presentations.
During his younger days, Ed was a football official for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, (ECAC), officiating college football games for the ECAC schools as a hobby. He includes many of his own life's experiences in his lectures.
Rates vary depending upon the organization needs.
