The San Diego State chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics hosted former NASA astronaut Joseph Tanner at the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center last Thursday.
Tanner graduated from the University of Illinois and later joined the Navy as a research pilot. He started working for NASA as a pilot and aerospace engineer in 1984 and was a NASA astronaut from 1992 to 2008. He has completed seven space walks in his career and logged more than 1,000 hours in space.
The lecture was part of a series hosted by the AIAA, which is a professional chapter for aerospace and engineering connect students and professionals in Southern California. The presentation was titled “The Challenge of International Space Station Assembly: How the largest space vehicle in history was built.”
According to NASA, the ISS is the largest orbiting laboratory ever built. Pieces for the ISS were built in different locations around the world.
“The ISS was assembled over a period of 10 to 11 years with pieces from all over the United States and the world by different contractors,” Tanner said. “None of the pieces touched each other before they were in space,” Tanner said.
Tanner said all of the additions to the ISS have to fit in the payload of the shuttle and have to be a certain diameter and cannot weigh more than 35,000 pounds.
Tanner helped assemble part of the ISS and said it was a huge challenge, but also an engineering achievement. Tanner also talked about what it takes to become an astronaut, the training and equipment involved.
“For every hour we spent outside in space, we spent 10 hours training in a (water) tank in Houston,” Tanner said.
Tanner said the space suit and it is fitted with cameras so everyone can monitor movements.
“You cannot walk in space, it is impossible,” Tanner said. He said walking in space is called extra-vehicular activity.
Tanner talked about the space program and how it has inspired many people. Tanner said the Apollo program inspired him to become an astronaut.
Aerospace engineering junior and SDSU chapter of AIAA webmaster Daniel Silva, was has been interested in space for his entire life and said the lecture was exactly what he wanted to hear.
“It was a really great, inspiring lecture,” Silva said.
Mechanical engineering sophomore David Wrenn said the lecture kept his attention.
“I thought it was surprisingly entertaining for such a serious topic,” Wrenn said. “I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to hear from a former astronaut.”
Photo by Jonathan Bonpua, staff photographer.
