Webinar Archive

Historian and author Chris Gainor discusses the pivotal role that Canadian professionals played in the American Space Race. Following the cancellation of the Canadian government's CF-105 Avro Arrow program in 1959, the newly formed NASA hired top Avro engineers to help launch the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Long before modern Canadian astronauts like Jeremy Hansen flew on Artemis II, these engineers from Avro Canada made crucial contributions to help put Apollo astronauts on the moon.

Drawing on firsthand experience leading the Department of Defense's early operational AI initiatives, LtGen Shanahan examined how AI is being integrated into military operations, with emphasis on the role of drones, human-machine integration in current conflicts, and the emerging future of agentic and embodied AI.

This program celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first liquid fueled rocket launch by Dr. Robert Goddard opens with The Hon. Chris Scolese, Director of the National Reconnaissance Office and former Director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Scolese introduces Dr. Bill Barry, immediate past NASA Chief Historian, who will explore how the historical perception of Goddard has evolved over the last century. The keynote address on Goddard and his achievements is delivered by Dr. Richard Hallion, preeminent aerospace historian, prolific author, and former Chief Historian of the U.S. Air Force.

A veteran of five Space Shuttle missions on Challenger, Columbia, Atlantis, and Endeavour, Dr. Dunbar logged over 50 days in space across assignments as mission specialist and payload commander, conducting more than 150 scientific experiments, deploying and retrieving satellites, and docking with Mir. She underwent a rigorous 13-month training program in Star City, Russia — earning cosmonaut certification as a backup crew member for a three-month Mir mission. Among her many honors are induction into the National Academy of Engineering and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. (Dinner meeting)

The F-22 Raptor's sophisticated fly-by-wire flight control system integrates all flight control surfaces with thrust vectoring nozzles. Maj Browne covered the system end-to-end — from the 4,000 psi hydraulic system to maneuvers that seem to defy conventional aerodynamics, such as the pedal turn and tail slide — and the F-22's original design goal of "reckless abandon," allowing the pilot to freely manipulate the controls in any phase of flight without losing control.

Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift — the only direct confrontation of the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War — AIAA Fellow Roger Launius recounted how the U.S. prevailed not with tanks or fighter aircraft but with C-54 transports. The dinner was held within three days of the anniversary of the peak day of the airlift, April 15th, 1949, when 12,941 tons of cargo were delivered to Berlin in 24 hours. (Dinner meeting)

Brent Cobleigh discussed NASA's X-66A, the latest U.S. X-plane. Based on a highly modified MD-90 fuselage, the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator's very high aspect ratio truss-braced wing — combined with advances in propulsion and materials — could reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions by up to 30% compared to current aircraft. Cobleigh's 33-year NASA career included managing the Ikhana unmanned wildfire-mapping system and the SOFIA airborne observatory.

Col Sander discussed the unique mission of the 109th Airlift Wing, which operates the only ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules aircraft in the world in support of the National Science Foundation's Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica. He covered the extreme challenges of polar operations — distance, cold, unpredictable weather, and crew survival — and drew on more than 10 years of command experience flying from Christchurch, New Zealand and McMurdo Station.

Starting with only the idea for an engine and no airplane that needed it — and with the knowledge that the U.S. Government had forbidden the partnership — GE and SNECMA forged ahead and overcame every obstacle in their path. Dr. Blanton, a Fellow of both AIAA and ASME, told the story of the international collaboration that produced the engine powering the vast majority of Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s.

The Arctic is the shortest air attack route to North America, defended 24/7 by U.S. and Canadian forces. Col Gagné discussed the formidable challenges of fighter operations in the North — extreme cold, unpredictable weather, distance from airfields, and crew survival. A 40-year veteran of the Canadian Forces with over 5,000 flight hours including 2,000 in the CF-18 and 75 combat hours during Operation Desert Storm, he drew on deep experience operating from the world's most demanding environments.

Ray Harvey, DART Mission Operations Manager at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, briefed us on this first of its kind mission, including ground preparation and testing of the spacecraft, mission operations en route, and the approach and terminal phases prior to impact.

Dr. Siddiqi explored the Soviet program to send cosmonauts to the Moon, including the creation of the massive N1 superbooster. Kept secret for decades, the archives have since revealed a huge effort to match Apollo involving enormous resources. After several catastrophic failures the N1 was shelved, and the Soviets denied they had ever been in the Moon race. Dr. Siddiqi examined the political, technological, and programmatic dimensions of this hidden chapter.

Mr. Ohmit discussed the findings of the accident reports of the events that led to the tragic Lion Air JT610 and Ethiopian Airlines ET302 737 Max 8 accidents. He presented summaries of the accidents and discussed the operation of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). Dr. Bidlack addressed questions regarding the operation of the 737 MAX 8 from a pilot's perspective.

Over one hundred years of progress in flight simulation, from simple mechanical devices developed shortly after the first aircraft through the Apollo Mission Simulators and on to the incredibly high-fidelity simulators of today — so effective that a new airline copilot's first flight in an actual aircraft is a scheduled revenue flight with passengers. Professor Cardullo, recipient of the AIAA De Florez Award for Flight Simulation and Training, brought over fifty years of research in human control of complex systems.

The formal meeting welcoming eight student branches and over 200 professional members from Ontario and Quebec to the Niagara Frontier Section featured a speaker uniquely suited to that binational gathering. Raised in Toronto and a University of Toronto graduate, Rogers Smith served as a fighter pilot in both the RCAF and U.S. Air National Guard, and as a test pilot for the National Research Council of Canada, Calspan Corporation, and NASA — retiring as NASA's chief pilot. He is a member of both the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame and the Niagara Frontier Aviation and Space Hall of Fame.

As a capstone to events commemorating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, NASA Chief Historian Bill Barry discussed NASA's impact across six decades of existence, future directions, and surprising aspects of NASA history that most people don't know.