JOHN TROTT introduced DAVE FILMER, retired professor of biological sciences and currently on the faculty of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics who 
gave us a lesson on Satellite Design and Space Weather. His interest in space began in 1957 when the Soviet Union sent Sputnik into orbit. A solar flare, predicted in 2012 or 2013 could knock out 300 transformers in 90 seconds, causing disruption for 190 million people in the U.S. NASA has satellites looking at the sun to predict the flare and efforts to avoid massive damage are under way. DAVE then showed us how a satellite is being built at Purdue. He described the nuts and bolts of building the satellite along with the electronic equipment on it and discussed the techniques of passive and active orientation. Through the magic of computers, he also showed us in real time, the orbits of a satellite and the International Space Station.
