Orlando Science Center hosted a discussion on Central Florida’s past, present and future in space on Sept. 23 as part of the Orlando Sentinel’s 150th-anniversary event series.
The panel included representatives connected with Kennedy Space Center, the Space Force and the University of Central Florida, alongside current and former journalists. Speakers addressed the region’s role in U.S. space efforts.
Former Sentinel photographer Red Huber also presented “The Cape Chronicles,” a retrospective of photographs from his 37-year career at the newspaper. Huber said his work focused on documenting history and finding visual ways to tell NASA’s story. His images were projected in the science center’s newly refurbished eight-story Dome theater.
According to Jeff Stanford, the science center’s vice president of marketing, the institution began in 1955 as a volunteer effort by engineers, teachers and community leaders. It was once called the John Young Museum and Planetarium in honor of the local astronaut.
Other panel participants included James W. Draper, director of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum; Philip Metzger, director of UCF’s Stephen W. Hawking Center for Microgravity Research and Education; and NASA Communications Office commentator Derrol Nail.
