The 2019 NASA in the South Symposium to examine the economic, social and political impact NASA has had on the South over the past 60 years, will be held March 28 at 8:30 a.m., at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Marshall Center Director Jody Singer and UAH President Robert Altenkirch will welcome attendees and kick off the event, which is hosted by the University and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and will be held in the UAH Student Services Building.
Experts in space history and those researching the topic are expected to attend the symposium. Attendees are to examine factors shaping the impact NASA has had on the South over the past 60 years and to explore how that Southern “accent” has affected the development of NASA’s organizational culture, technology development and programmatic goals.
Presenters will include Douglas Brinkley, author of “American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race,” James Hansen, author of “First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong,” and Roger Launius, author of “Apollo’s Legacy: Perspectives on the Moon Landings.” Diane McWhorter, author of “Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama; The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution,” will provide the evening keynote address entitled “Moon of Alabama: From the Third Reich to Tranquility Base via the Segregated South” at 7:30 p.m. in Roberts Recital Hall on the UAH campus.
The symposium is held in recognition of the Apollo 50th anniversary — the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon — as well as the Alabama Bicentennial.
News media interested in covering the event should contact Stephen Waring in the UAH History Department at 256-721-5429 or Brian Odom in the Marshall History Office at 256-544-0034 no later than 3 p.m. Monday, March 25.
For more information about the NASA in the South Symposium visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/
For more information about the Marshall Space Flight Center, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/
For more information about the University of Alabama in Huntsville, visit:
