Feb. 22: UND Space Studies Colloquium will focus on ‘supporting the greatest plane in history’

The University of North Dakota Space Studies Colloquium Series features experts in space-related fields.

“The SR-71: Supporting the Greatest Plane in History” by Louis Carfagno, former Air Force life support systems engineer and spacesuit engineer, is set for 5-7 p.m. CST Monday, Feb. 22. A live webcast will be available here.

Dr. Carfagno was a Life Support Systems engineer with the Air Force, in charge of preparing pressure suits and survival equipment for high altitude pilots. Then he became a space suit engineer, working for United Space Alliance supporting the Space Shuttle program.

Dr. Carfagno would end up preparing astronauts for 11 different Space Shuttle missions. Along with candidates in training, he estimates he suited up roughly 100 astronauts from all around the world during his 15 years in his position. He won the Silver Snoopy Award from NASA, bestowed to less than one percent of the aerospace community, for his work on STS-112, an 11-day mission to the International Space Station by the shuttle Atlantis in October 2002.

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