The Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering department has invited Tucson astronaut Frank Borman to the UA as part of the annual Williams R. Sears Memorial Lecture series tonight.

The space veteran led the first team of American astronauts to circle the moon and is internationally known as the commander of the 1968 Apollo 8 mission.

“”(People) can expect to hear about experiences about how it was to fly these missions back in the day and the things he’s worked on up to now,”” said Dianne Smith, program coordinator for the UA Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering department.

Borman has an extensive military background starting in 1950 with his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy. In 1970 he retired from the Air Force, but his service does not become merely a passing thought: his choice of transportation is his own converted military plane.

“”He’s 82 and he still flies his own plane,”” Smith said.

“”And we have a lot of military on our department,”” she added, so Borman will be very welcome.

In addition to military personnel and UA students, Smith said high school students will also be making a visit.

“”A lot of (high school) students are up on this,”” she said. “”The first (astronauts), those names like Armstrong, they kind of stick out.””

But Borman will not be the only space veteran in attendance. “”Some old-timers are coming, and it’s kind of fun,”” Smith said.

With the UA known for its astronomy program, it is no surprise that it has produced astronauts.

“”You’d be surprised at how many … we’ve got from our department, which had three astronauts.””

One of those was Richard Scobee, who was killed in the Challenger.

Borman will speak at 4 p.m. at the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering building in room S202.