Legendary NASA engineer inspires C.O. students

A NASA engineer who helped put men on the moon is in Central Oregon this week. Norman Chaffee is a propulsion engineer who worked with NASA for more than 50 years, and had a critical role in the Gemini and Apollo programs.

On Wednesday, Chaffee spoke to students at Sisters High School. He’s on a tour with the JPL Museum of Oregon, sharing his stories with students in rural areas so they know can reach for the stars, too.

“Neil Armstrong was from a little town called Wapakoneta, Ohio,” Chaffee said. “I don’t want to hear you tell me, ‘I’m from Sisters, Oregon nobody’s ever heard of that. How could I ever amount to anything?’ That’s bologna. The first person to walk on Mars could very well be from Sisters, Oregon.”

Chaffee himself is from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

He told students tales of his young adventures with home chemistry sets – often ending in accidental explosions. He then offered details of some of his most memorable moments working with NASA, like showing the class the very slide rule he used to make calculations that helped send men to the moon.

Among the many titles he’s had over a long and successful career, Chaffee is the chief education outreach volunteer at the Johnson Space Center.

NewsChannel 21 took the opportunity to ask Chaffee about the recent Soyuz rocket failure.

Last week, Russia launched a rocket to bring astronauts to the International Space Station, but just minutes later, they had to make an emergency landing. Both men on board made a safe landing back on Earth, but the future of the ISS is uncertain.

In fact, the space station may end up being unmanned for the first time ever.

Chaffee explained that the Soyuz rocket is the only vehicle currently that can take astronauts to and from the ISS. He said there are certain restrictions that mean the Soyuz that’s currently docked at the station must return to Earth some time early next year.

“If there’s no crew up there to repair something or shut something down, we’re not certain what can happen,” Chaffee said. “There’s things that can happen if a crew is not there that could be taken care of easily if a crew were on board.”

Chaffee is traveling with James Loftus, who he jokes is his agent. Really, Loftus is the director of the JPLmuesum.org, is based in Oregon. He’s also the son of Joseph Phillip Loftus Jr. (the namesake of his mobile museum). Loftus Jr. is a legend in his own right and had his own successful 47-year-long career with NASA.

Loftus expanded upon Chaffee’s thoughts of the Soyuz failure and potential of having an unmanned space station.

“It’s designed to stay up there unmanned,” Loftus said. “But being a former elected official, I know that as a government agency. But if they abandon something, the likelihood it being brought back to life diminishes over time. It would be a shame to lose that asset.”

NASA officials now must decide how, or whether, to maintain a U.S. presence on the ISS as the Russian Space Agency investigates the cause of the rocket’s malfunction.

NewsChannel 21 also asked Chaffee about President Donald Trump’s idea to create a sixth military branch: a Space Force.

Chaffee said the military is not his expertise, but if the Department of Defense thinks Space Force a wise pursuit, he agrees that makes sense.

“NASA was established as a civilian agency for the advancement of science and technology. That’s what I’m interested in,” Chaffee said. “If that science and technology can protect the United States in times of threat, or protect the world in times of threat, then it makes a great deal of sense to be looking at and seeing if it’s something we should embark on.”

Chaffee is speaking at Bend and Marshall high schools on Thursday, Oct 18.

He’ll also be at Worthy Brewing in Bend on Wednesday night, from 6 to 9 p.m.