Jeff Hessel
Jeff Hessel grew up in the era of Sputnik, Alan Shepard, John Glenn and John F. Kennedy’s challenge of going to the Moon. His career began as an engineer at Cape Canaveral supporting both National Defense and NASA/ Apollo Programs. Drawing on his firsthand experience at the height of the Space Race, including witnessing the Apollo 11 launch, he has created a series of lectures titled Space Talks with Jeff Hessel, offering audiences a rare, behind-the-scenes perspective on one of the most pivotal eras in American history.
He has presented to a wide range of communities, clubs, colleges, professional societies and has served as a keynote speaker at a major space conference in Orlando. His presentations have been featured at FAU’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, one of his lectures was livestreamed to all high school STEM students throughout Palm Beach County and has frequently presented at local schools and libraries.
Jeff is an official NASA Solar System Ambassador, dedicated to educating and inspiring audiences of all ages about the history, the science and the human stories of space exploration.
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Eyewitness To History: Cape Canaveral During The Space Race
Get ready for a deep dive into the storied past of Cape Canaveral and its remarkable contributions to our space program. Jeff Hessel will guide us through the rationale for choosing the Cape to launch rockets and missiles, the unique support his department provided for various missions, and untold narratives that defined the Space Race in the 1960’s including competition with the Soviet Union. Featuring archival material and personal stories such as witnessing the Apollo 11 launch, the presentation weaves history, little known facts and unique insights about the Cape’s role in one of mankind’s most remarkable achievements. The presentation is highly informative and entertaining.
Facts vs Fantasies: UFOs & Aliens
Throughout history, mankind has been fascinated with objects appearing in the sky that we could not explain and have sparked human imagination. Join Jeff Hessel in exploring how these objects have been depicted throughout history, from ancient times to modern day in literature, television, movies and most recently, what the U.S. Navy has revealed. For most of us, UFOs and Aliens are a source of mystery and fun, but many people have come to believe these sightings are aliens from distant planets and galaxies. In this highly entertaining and informative presentation, which includes several videos, we will explore the facts and the fantasies surrounding UFOs and Aliens.
The Cultural Impact of the Space Program
When Sputnik launched in 1957, it changed the world forever. It is one of the most consequential endeavors in human history-right up there with fire and the wheel and has set off a change reaction of scientific, cultural, military and commercial consequences that changed the world we live in today. Join Jeff Hessel in a fascinating presentation about how the Space Program has changed everything like checking the latest weather forecast, getting directions on our cell phone or from our car, sleeping on a memory foam mattress, remembering HAL from 2001: Space Odyssey, and watching Star Trek and Star Wars. He will discuss its impact on medicine, defense, earth and space exploration and the many things we use every day like the Dustbuster, scratch proof lenses and cell phones cameras.
Back to the Moon: Apollo to Artemis
The story of human voyages to the Moon is framed by two landmark NASA Programs – Apollo in the 1960s-1970s and Artemis in the 21st century. Apollo proved crewed lunar exploration was possible while Artemis aims to make it sustainable and a steppingstone to Mars. Join Jeff Hessel in a fascinating presentation tracing the history, mission objectives & technologies of both programs comparing similarities and differences in their goals, politics, engineering and vision.
