In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Historical Electronics Museum (HEM) are proud to present award winning author and lecturer Robert Zimmerman as he traces the first 50 years of NASA. Mr. Zimmerman has authored four well received books on space exploration and written for, among others, Natural History, Air & Space Magazine, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, The Science Channel, The Sciences, Invention & Technology, and American History. His newest book out now, The Universe in a Mirror, the Saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built It, tells the story of the men and women who conceived, built, and saved the Hubble Space Telescope.

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Topic:
America's First Half Century in Space: Where the Future Began

Speaker:
Robert Zimmerman

Date:
October 25, 2008

Time:
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM: Social Hour
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM: Dinner
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM: Presentation

Location:
Historical Electronics Museum
1745 West Nursery Road
Linthicum, Maryland 21090
410-765-0230
http://www.hem-usa.org

Cost:
IEEE or HEM Members: $30
Non-members: $35
Children 12 or under: $15

Checks should be made payable to the Historical Electronics Musuem.
Checks are due at the museum by October 15, 2008.
Proceeds benefit the Historical Electronics Museum.

Send checks to:
Historical Electronics Museum
P.O. Box 1693
MS 4015
Baltimore, MD 21203
Attn: NASA Anniversary

Include with your checks an email address and/or a phone number.

To register by e-mail:
specialevents.hem@gmail.com

Dinner Menu includes:
Beef
Chicken
Pasta
Salad & Breadsticks
Vegetable of the Day
Soda/Beer/Wine
Desserts

Dinner will be catered by the Olive Grove Restaurant.

For more information about this event:
Anne Mech
anne.mech@ngc.com
410-765-0230

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Abstract:

The history of the first fifty years of NASA is the history of the first fifty years of space exploration. Though the United States got a slow start in the first five years after Sputnik, it soon surged ahead and has set the pace for practically all space exploration since. Along the way, however, NASA's space program experienced many ups and downs. The 1960s was a time of triumph and success, followed by the 1970s and 1980s, a period of both decline and innovation. Then came the 1990s with its resurgance and growth, followed by the 2000s, when all things are possible and the future never looked brighter.

In his lecture Robert Zimmerman will give a broad outline of this history, illustrating the differences between the good and bad times and how those differences can be used as a lesson for the future.

Biography:

Robert Zimmerman is a well known and respected space historian and author.
He also wrote a weekly UPI column which can be found by doing a Google for "Zimmerman bibliography" and click on "A Zimmerman Bibliography". Mr.
Zimmerman is also an award winning author. His new book is now out, “THE UNIVERSE IN A MIRROR: THE SAGA OF THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE AND THE VISIONARIES WHO BUILT IT” is published by Princeton University Press. The book tells the poignant tale of the men and women behind the telescope, and how many had to sacrifice careers and family to get it built. It also describes in detail the importance of Hubble both scientifically and culturally. More than any other instrument sent into space, the Hubble Space Telescope reshaped the human perception of our place in the universe. Robert’s book “LEAVING EARTH: Space Stations, Rival Superpower, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel” is a must read! His work is published regularly in such magazines as ASTRONOMY, THE SCIENCES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, INVENTION & TECHNOLOGY, FORTUNE, AD ASTRA, AMERICAN HISTORY, STARDATE, and many other major magazines. In 2000 he was co-winner of the David N. Schramm Award, given by the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society for Science Journalism. Before writing his newest book, LEAVING EARTH, Mr. Zimmerman authored two books, GENESIS, THE STORY OF APOLLO 8, published by Four Walls Eight Windows in 1998, describes the family and political tale behind the first human journey to another world and THE CHRONOLOGICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DISCOVERIES IN SPACE (published by Oryx Press, now Greenword Publishing Group 2000). This is a detailed reference book describing what was accomplished on every space mission beginning in October 1957 with Sputnik and continuing through December 1999. Mr.
Zimmerman also won an Emmy Award for the best space history for the general public by the American Astronautical Society awarded on Nov. 16, 2004.

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Directions to Historical Electronics Musuem:

The Historical Electronics Museum (HEM) is located near BWI airport. The address for the HEM is:

Historical Electronics Museum
1745 W. Nursery Road
Linthicum, MD 21090
410-765-0230
http://www.hem-usa.org

The directions for the HEM are as follows:

From Baltimore:
Route 295 South (Baltimore Washington Parkway) Take West Nursery Road exit, turn left at light and go through four stoplights.
Museum is on the left, next to the Marriott Hotel.

From Annapolis:
Route 97 North
Take BWI Airport exit. Right at first light onto Aviation Boulevard.
Turn right at sixth light onto Elkridge Landing Road.
Turn right at second light onto West Nursery Road.
Museum is on the right, next to the Marriott Hotel.

From Washington:
Route 295 North (Baltimore Washington Parkway) Take West Nursery Road exit, stay right on ramp.
Go through three stoplights.
Museum is on the left, next to the Marriott Hotel.

From Route 195:
Route 170 North (Camp Meade Road) towards Linthicum.
Left at first light onto Elm Road.
Left at light onto Elkridge Landing Road.
Right onto West Nursery Road.
Museum is on the right next to the Marriott Hotel.

From Interstate 95:
Exit onto 195 East to 295 North and follow directions from Washington
(above)