Today’s Spotlight features photographs, taken by M. Scott Brauer, of MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Starting in the 1960s and the Apollo era, sending humans into space was a national priority, and a very real possibility for many students. During this period, MIT graduated more astronauts than any other university, with the exception of the U.S. military academies. Alumni from AeroAstro, as the department is known, have participated in one‑third of all U.S. space flights, collectively logging more than 10,000 hours in space. And Buzz Aldrin PhD ’63, one of the department’s stars, is among four AeroAstro graduates to have walked on the surface of the moon.
Today, while some AeroAstro students still dream of becoming the next moonwalker, others are exploring new frontiers in aerospace engineering, from miniature satellite propulsion and fuel‑efficient aviation to automated airplane manufacturing and unmanned spacecraft.
Read more
Starting in the 1960s and the Apollo era, sending humans into space was a national priority, and a very real possibility for many students. During this period, MIT graduated more astronauts than any other university, with the exception of the U.S. military academies. Alumni from AeroAstro, as the department is known, have participated in one‑third of all U.S. space flights, collectively logging more than 10,000 hours in space. And Buzz Aldrin PhD ’63, one of the department’s stars, is among four AeroAstro graduates to have walked on the surface of the moon.
Today, while some AeroAstro students still dream of becoming the next moonwalker, others are exploring new frontiers in aerospace engineering, from miniature satellite propulsion and fuel‑efficient aviation to automated airplane manufacturing and unmanned spacecraft.
Read more