WLW: UC aerospace engineer talks about historic SpaceX launch
Professor Mark Turner toured SpaceX while visiting UC students on co-op
WLW's "Eddie and Rocky Show" turned to University of Cincinnati aerospace engineer to put this weekend's historic SpaceX launch into perspective.
It will be the first crewed launch for SpaceX and the first crewed launch on U.S. soil since the last space shuttle launch in 2011.
Mark Turner, a professor of aerospace engineering in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science, told WLW it will mark a milestone in space exploration.
"It is huge," Turner said.
The commercialization of aerospace is opening space travel in ways undreamed of in previous generations, he said.
UC has a storied tradition in aerospace. After setting foot on the moon, the late astronaut Neil Armstrong left NASA to teach aerospace engineering at UC. UC graduates work for NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and aerospace research firms across the country.
Turner toured SpaceX while visiting his former students after their co-op at the aerospace company. He was amused to see that SpaceX founder Elon Musk had a cubicle rather than an office.
"On his wall is a picture of Mars and that's where he wants to go," Turner said.
Wednesday's scheduled launch was scrubbed by storms over Cape Canaveral. The next launch is rescheduled for 3:22 p.m. Saturday or, if necessary, at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Featured image at top: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral during a demonstration flight. Photo/Kim Shiflett/NASA
UC aerospace engineering professor Mark Turner shows off his Apollo memorabilia. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative + Brand
Related Stories
Cognitive decline reduced by MIND diet, study finds
September 19, 2024
National outlets including CNN, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report highlighted research led by the University of Cincinnati's Russell Sawyer that found following the MIND diet for 10 years produced a small but significant decrease in the risk of developing thinking, concentration and memory problems.
Nationwide map shows area's risks of landslides
September 19, 2024
UC Associate Professor Daniel Sturmer talks to WVXU about a new national map identifying areas at greatest risk for landslides.
CDC issues new guidelines to help manage potential IUD pain
September 18, 2024
Some women have taken to social media with their experiences of pain when having an intrauterine device, or IUD, inserted. Now the Centers for Disease Control issued guidelines to urge health care providers to address the problem. Priya Gursahaney, MD, associate professor in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, recently appeared on Cincinnati Edition on WVXU to discuss the role that IUDs play in reproductive health care.