Fresno State alumnus Chris Rosander was born the same year Sputnik orbited the earth. He says his mind was on space from a young age. “The astronauts were my childhood heroes, and my favorite hobby as a kid was building and flying model airplanes and rockets.”

Rosander parlayed his passion into a career that will soon receive international recognition. On Aug. 17, Rosander and his colleagues on the Delta Chipper Experimental (DC-X) team will be inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame at the New Mexico Museum of Space History. It is the first time a team of scientists has received this honor.

Chris Rosander

“For a person like me who grew up as a bonafide space geek, it’s exciting being inducted into the Hall of Fame with my DC-X teammates and having our names included with the likes of Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Yuri Gagarin and Neil Armstrong,” Rosander said.

The DC-X is widely considered to be the first step in an effort to dramatically lower the cost of space access by developing a completely reusable vehicle that would cost less than $10 million per flight. At the time, expendable launch vehicles cost $60 million to $150 million per flight.

The induction will take place during an evening ceremony at New Mexico State University, Alamogordo. The DC-X team (made up of about 175 members) will join a group of 154 International Space Hall of Fame inductees.

Rosander was born in Fresno and graduated from Edison High School in 1975. He served six years in the California Air National Guard and in 1982 graduated from Fresno State with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

His storied career includes work as a rocket scientist for McDonnell Douglass, lobbying for the International Space Station, and with the White House Office of Management and Budget.

In 1999, Rosander returned to Fresno and now works as the international program manager for the Raisin Administrative Committee.

For more information, contact Kathleen R. Schock, director of media and development communications, at 559.278.2756 or kschock@csufresno.edu.

Related links: