Retired US astronaut Steve Swanson paid a visit to MTU on Monday, 19th February, to give a talk about his experiences and observations of life in orbit beyond our planetary bounds.

A distinguished NASA astronaut, Steve Swanson PhD has flown to the International Space Station on three occasions, and has spent 195 days in space, including 5 space walks, totalling 28 hours and 5 minutes. Dr Swanson has served in other roles at NASA, such as a CAPCOM for both International Space Station and Space Shuttle missions.

His awards and honours include the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and the JSC Certificate of Accommodation, Flight Simulation Engineering Award, and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. During the event, Dr Swanson shared video clips of his experiences and gave a virtual tour of his life on board.

The visit was sponsored by DELL Technologies Ireland, and Dr Swanson was accompanied to Cork by Ross Barber and Jack Enright from the International Space School Educational Trust (ISSET) organisation in the UK. Dr Swanson had also given a talk earlier that day to secondary students in Midleton College and at DELL (EMC) in Ballincollig.

About MTU

Munster Technological University is the southwest’s newest technological university consisting of six campuses across Cork and Kerry. The university has a student body of 18,000. It is a leader in higher education and research both regionally and internationally through the provision of a wide range of programmes ranging from apprenticeships, degrees, Masters to PhDs. MTU operates Blackrock Castle Observatory which is an internationally award-winning visitor and outreach centre, and a functioning astronomical observatory.