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OGDEN — Former astronaut and TOPGUN graduate Kent Rominger is coming to Utah.
Rominger has 1,600 hours and almost 27 million miles of space travel under his belt, as well as 26 years as a Naval aviator, according to a biography by the Challenger Center. Rominger graduated from the Navy Fighter Weapons School known as TOPGUN and is now vice president of strategic programs at Orbital ATK, an American aerospace manufacturer and defense industry company.
Rominger will be the keynote speaker Monday at 5 p.m. at the Astro Camp Space and Science Center in Ogden, where Utah's space industry will be on full display.
The four-time space shuttle astronaut will speak about his experiences as an astronaut and Navy test pilot, then answer questions during a Q&A, according to Orbital ATK communications lead Kay Anderson and Astro Camp director Annika Jensen.
Rominger, who often speaks to students, tells them to “work hard to become proficient at what (they) like best,” Anderson said. She explained that Rominger’s speech would be directed toward a younger audience.
The event, hosted by the Astro Camp, is free and open to all ages and is part of World Space Week, a UN-declared celebration. World Space Week lasts from Oct. 4–10 and celebrates notable dates in space exploration history, including the launch of Sputnik.
The keynote is the first of its kind hosted by the Astro Camp, which has been a fixture in Ogden for 27 years, Jensen said. While astronauts have spoken at the camp before, it has never been open to the general public.
After the address, attendants will be able to participate in a variety of science activities, including the “Newton Chair,” building film canister rockets and designing a Mars base.
Jensen said she hopes the open house will get the community excited about science and prove that it has the resources to participate in the broader aerospace community.
Kids don’t have to live in Florida or Texas to be a part of the space program, she said.
“We need (them) to carry on our legacy,” said Amy Jo Moore, a mechanical engineer project manager with Northrop Grumman Corporation who will be representing her company at the event.
Northrop Grumman supports science, technology, engineering and math activities to inspire the next generation of engineers, she said.
“If we can influence kids while they’re young, they’ll be great engineers,” said David Tippets, a mechanical design engineer with the Boeing Company who will be helping attendees build rockets at the event.
However, both Tippets and Jensen agreed that exposing children to space and STEM activities isn’t just about steering them toward one company or even a technical field.
“It’s about the whole big picture,” Tippets said, explaining that his company would be happy if students end up making any contribution to engineering.
Jensen explained that the Astro Camp, which involves children from ages 6 to 15 in realistic space simulations, exposes them to intriguing but “accessible” science demonstrations and aims to inspire young minds to take control of their own future.
And Jensen hopes the presentation from Rominger will fuel that inspiration.
“Everyone finds astronauts inspiring,” Jensen said. “(They) rekindle all learning.”
The Astro Camp Space and Science Center is located at Odyssey Elementary School at 375 Goddard St., Ogden.
Ryan Boyce is a computer scientist in the defense and space industry. Contact him at curtiselaugh@gmail.com
