University of Colorado at Boulder alumnus and NASA astronaut Steve Swanson will return to his alma mater for the CU-Texas A&M football game on Nov. 7.
At halftime, Swanson will present two medals to the university that he carried on the space shuttle Discovery during his most recent mission to the International Space Station in March. CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano and physics department Chair Paul Beale will accept the medals on behalf of the university community.
Swanson earned his undergraduate degree in engineering physics in 1983 and flew to the International Space Station in June 2007 aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. This year's Discovery mission included two spacewalks by Swanson, when the astronauts delivered and assembled the fourth and final set of U.S. solar arrays and batteries for the orbiting facility. Swanson has spent 27 days and traveled 11.1 million miles in space.
Swanson also will visit with elementary school and CU-Boulder students during his visit to the Boulder area. The morning of Friday, Nov. 6, he will meet with students at Ryan Elementary School in Lafayette. Ryan Elementary is a Boulder Valley School District "magnet" school with a curriculum that focuses on math and science. Swanson will meet with each of the grades individually and eat lunch with students during his visit.
Friday afternoon Swanson will visit the CU-Boulder physics department and speak with students in a physics honors seminar in a visit hosted by Beale.
Fans will have a chance to meet with Swanson before the football game on Nov. 7. The CU-Boulder Alumni Association will host an informal autograph session with Swanson at its pre-game reception on Benson Field, located directly south of Folsom Field. The autograph session is free and open to the public.
For those interested in attending the Big 12 matchup against Texas A&M, two-for-one tickets are available at by using the promotional code "BUFFALOES."
Eighteen CU alumni astronauts have flown 41 missions in space, beginning with a flight by Scott Carpenter in 1962 during NASA's Mercury program. CU ranks in the top five universities in the nation, excluding military academies, in the number of alumni astronauts who have flown in space.