Know Your Park: Delma Freeman Speaks on the History of Human Spaceflight

Date: January 29, 2009
Contact: Wright Brothers National Memorial, 252-441-7430

Continuing the third season of the Know Your Park citizen science education program series, the National Park Service Outer Banks Group is hosting a presentation on The Odyssey of Human Spaceflight: 40^th Anniversary Apollo 11 by Delma C. Freeman Jr., a former Director of NASA’s Langley Research Center.  The program will take place at the Wright Brothers National Memorial Centennial Pavilion on Tuesday February 10 at 7 p.m.  This year marks the 40^th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 first lunar landing on July 20, 1969; and mankind’s first step foot on the moon that same date.

Delma Freeman served as Director of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA during 2002 and 2003.  NASA Langley, founded in 1917, is the nation’s first civilian aeronautical research facility and is NASA’s oldest field center.  He additionally served at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. as Administrator of the Space Transportation Technology Office and as the NASA Deputy Chief Engineer of Space Transportation.

Freeman began his NASA career at Langley Research Center in 1960 as a calibrator in the Instrument Research Division.  During Space Shuttle development in the 1970’s, Freeman played a key role providing much of the aerodynamic data used in designing the Shuttle.  In particular, he performed the dynamic stability wind tunnel tests and analyses used in designing the orbiter and the ascent, approach and the landing test vehicles

Freeman has received many NASA awards, including the NASA Distinguish Service Medal in 2003.  Since his retirement from NASA, Freeman has served as a consultant to U. S. Government and Aerospace Industries.

The Know Your Park citizen science program series is designed to further connect the Outer Banks communities and residents with the rich natural world and cultural heritage of their neighboring National Park sites; Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers National Memorial and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.