Astronomy professor George A. Bunk is set to discuss personal spacecrafts at the August Princeton PC Users Group meeting.
The presentation is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Lawrence Branch of the Mercer County Library, 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville.
Bunk’s presentation is titled The Next Space Age: The rise of suborbital and personal spacecraft. According to Bunk, the “next space age” is happening now. Passenger carrying suborbital craft are flying and may be starting commercial service within the next two years. Small spacecraft known as nanosats are in orbit around the earth that can be constructed with inexpensive hardware by schools and even individuals.
Bunk plans to discuss how these developments are bringing space research to the masses.
Currently, Bunk is an adjunct professor of physics and astronomy at Burlington County College. He was a space shuttle and space station payload processing engineer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for Boeing/McDonnell Douglas from 1987 to 2001.
He has recently completed the first tier suborbital spaceflight training at the NASTAR training facility in Southampton, Pa.
Bunk has an associates degree in electrical engineering technology from Middlesex County College, a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a masters degree in space technology from the Florida Institute of Technology.
The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 24.
Meetings are open to the public. The PC Users Group usually meets the fourth Tuesday of the month, except in December at Mercer County Library in Lawrence.
