Hosted by the University’s student-led rocket team, Project Sunride, Daniel shared his inspiring journey, delving into his engineering background and providing a glimpse into his career as a NASA astronaut. The event offered students a rare chance to hear directly from someone who has ventured into space as well as an opportunity to ask questions to the celestial explorer.
Daniel has had an illustrious career. Having flown on two space missions and conducted six spacewalks, he is known for his work on the International Space Station, where he spent over 131 days in space. It is here where he also conducted the 100th spacewalk with colleague Peggy Whitson in 2009. Retiring in August 2012 he became Vice President of Mission and Cargo Operations in the Advanced Programs Group of Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia.
Sunride took the opportunity to showcase their work to Daniel, specifically giving him a tour of their workshop, taking him through the team's greatest achievements and their current projects. Daniel took great interest in learning about the team's work with electronics and dedication to mentoring local secondary school students in model rocketry.
Emma Bladen, Co-Director of Project Sunride and General Engineering student said: “Hearing about Daniel’s journey from earth to space was incredibly inspiring, especially his stories of perseverance, teamwork and pushing boundaries. We took the opportunity to show him our current piece of work, Karman Bravo as well as the designs for our new rocket, Karman Charlie.”
Learn more about Project Sunride.
