The Guilford College Bryan Series continues its yearlong “Heroes in Our Midst” theme with former astronaut and NASA administrator Charles Bolden Thursday, Feb. 8.
Charles will give a talk entitled “Dreaming Big: The Past, Present, and Future of Human Space Exploration” at 7:30 pm at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts. In addition to participating in the main program, he will speak to Guilford students and other interested persons at 4 pm on campus.
First as a Marine Corps Major General and then as NASA Administrator, Charles, a Columbia, S.C., native, has dedicated his life to the service of the United States, working for the nation’s security and prosperity and guiding efforts to explore the universe and better understand the planet.
In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Charles to be the 12th NASA Administrator, making him only the second astronaut and first person of color to hold that position. While heading NASA, he oversaw the transition from the Space Shuttle system to a new era of exploration, fully focused on the International Space Station and aeronautics technology development.
As Administrator, Charles led the development of the Space Launch System and the Orion Crew Capsule, oversaw the shift toward commercial space initiatives handling resupply of the ISS and created NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, responsible for developing the technology that will make future exploration missions successful.
His tenure included the triumph of the Mars Curiosity Rover landing, the success of the Juno mission that is helping us understand the planet Jupiter more completely, increasing the number of satellites tasked with Earth observation tasks and continuing progress toward the December 2021 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.
During his career as a NASA astronaut, Charles flew on four Space Shuttle missions, logging over 680 hours in space. He piloted Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986 and Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990 – the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. He had a long and distinguished military career. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Science, he flew more than 100 combat missions during the Vietnam War.
The Bryan Series season concludes Tuesday, April 9, with Judy Woodruff, a trailblazing news anchor.
Tickets for both events are free to current and retired Guilford faculty and staff as well as current students. The public can purchase tickets at the Tanger Center Box Office (Tuesday - Saturday, noon to 5 pm) and at Ticketmaster.com.