Astronaut Kent Rominger Discusses Â??nasa Today’ at Public Seminar at Colorado State University

Colorado State University alumnus, "top gun" pilot and space shuttle commander Kent Rominger will give an inside look into the present and future of space exploration at 10 a.m. April 26 in the Lory Student Center Theatre. Rominger’s hour-long presentation, called "NASA Today," is free and open to the campus and Fort Collins communities.

After graduating with honors from Colorado State in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, NASA Capt. Rominger was designated a naval aviator, logging more than 5,000 flying hours in more than 35 types of aircraft and completing 685 carrier landings. Rominger earned his master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1987.

Following a highly decorated career as a Navy fighter pilot, Rominger was selected by NASA in 1992 for the astronaut training program. He has since flown on five space missions, twice serving as shuttle commander and three times as pilot. He has additionally served in a variety of technical assignments in support of NASA’s Space Shuttle program. In total, Rominger has logged more than 1,600 hours in space, traveled nearly 27 million miles and orbited the Earth 1,063 times.

In 1999, Rominger was selected to command a critical space shuttle mission to help prepare the new International Space Station in advance of the first Expedition crew. Rominger led another successful mission last year when he was in charge of an international team that installed a new-generation robotic arm to the space station.

In honor of his service to NASA and the nation, Rominger recently was promoted to the prestigious position of deputy director of flight crew operations, where he oversees about 500 astronauts and staff.

Rominger will be in Fort Collins to receive the William E. Morgan Alumni Achievement Award at the university’s Distinguished Alumni Awards Program on April 26. The award is presented to alumni who have attained extraordinary distinction and success at the national or international level and whose achievements have brought credit to Colorado State and benefit to fellow citizens.