Retired astronaut visits USU, is self-proclaimed adrenaline junky
Kent Rominger presented to a group of Utah State University students on Tuesday March 29 in the Engineering Building. He told about his life-changing career as an astronaut and a retired Navy captain.
Rominger is a self-proclaimed adrenaline junky. He said he can’t get enough acceleration whether he is skiing, paragliding, skydiving or piloting NASA space missions.
“I always want more power,” he said. “I’ve never been in or on anything yet that has enough power.”
He compared flying to being in a ride at a theme park. It is like a theme park ride, except it takes eight and a half minutes to reach orbit, and the shuttle speeds are from zero to 18,000 miles per hour, all while experiencing pounds of thrust, he said.
“When you look out the window and see the state of Florida disappearing at a phenomenal rate, your mind can’t process that speed,” he said.
Rominger was a captain in the Navy before he became an astronaut for NASA. He flew five space shuttle missions with 685 landings in various aircrafts and he logged more than 7,000 flight hours in more than 35 different aircrafts before retiring from the Navy and NASA.
He said being an astronaut gave him a unique perspective on life. When he was on his first mission, he could see the world from an entirely new perspective, including the air pollution looming over places like Mexico City and China. Looking at that pollution he sad he realized he had to take as much care of Earth as possible.
“Our planet is precious, there’s this thin little atmosphere that protects us,” he said. “We need to do everything possible to take care of our planet.”
Rominger said if he could pass on advice, it is dedication to what one loves, finding leadership opportunities, but most importantly, having fun. There are times when it is appropriate to buckle down and be serious and learn, but it is also paramount to have fun all along the way.
“On my crew, our motto had been if you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right,” he said. “Have fun no matter what you do. It’s OK to have fun. We will all do a better job when you need to do it.”
Rominger was the first person to present for USU’s recently revived Alpha Eta Rho aviation fraternity. Andreas Weseman, with the Aviation Technology program, said the fraternity was around for many years, but it fell apart for about 15 years. He said they are rechartering the club for three purposes: to foster a mentor program for those in the aviation technology program to guide new members of the program, to provide more scholarships for people in the aviation program and to be able to host a speaker every year.
“Let’s shoot for the stars and we were able to actually get an astronaut,” he said.
Sterling Hatch is the new Alpha Eta Rho club president and a senior in aviation technology. He said it was fascinating to hear about an astronaut’s experiences.
“We were so happy to get the astronaut here so he could talk about the different fields of aviation,” he said.
— morgan.pratt.robinson@gmail.com