Engineering Better Worlds with Jack Bacon, PhD, PE

Modern technology has enabled the permanent occupation of space, where people have lived in continuously rotating shifts for over 21 years. The spins-offs from space research and our unparalleled perspective of the planet have respectively enabled new tools and fresh perspectives that can improve the lives of billions of people below. Guest speaker Jack Bacon of NASA has had the privilege to live and work within the worldwide teams who are re-engineering both of these worlds. He’ll address a wide range of topics that will touch on space history, the International Space Station, commercial space flight, the plans and engineering challenges for moon and Mars exploration, the growing orbital debris problem, and some details of successes in improving the quality of life in the most remote and under-served parts of the Earth. Dr. Jack Bacon is a 31-year veteran rocket scientist at NASA, following in the footsteps of his grandparents who opened the doors of NASA’s precursor (the NACA) in 1930. Bacon has spent his career as a key technical integrator of the International Space Station, and for the last six years has been coordinating national global practices to reduce the production of orbital debris. Bacon’s professional endeavors have taken him to 51 countries to date, working in every facet of his career to improve life on Earth. He has personally served as an Earth-based test subject in many space medical studies, and as a result has been subject to over 30 minute of zero G experience in scores of 20-second jet aircraft parabolic flights. He is the author of three books, and is a sought-after worldwide teacher and lecturer. This event is sponsored by the ND Space Grant Consortium and Visiting Scientists Series (VSS). VSS is a partnership of Bismarck State College, Bismarck Public Schools, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, North Dakota’s Gateway to Science, ND Society of Professional Engineers (Chapter 3), State Historical Society of North Dakota, University of Mary, and United Tribes Technical College.