U.S. Colonel Mike Mullane, who completed three space missions and logged 356 hours in space aboard the Shuttles Discovery and Atlantis, will join in the Nuclear Innovation Institute’s Launch Event on Tuesday, July 23 as a key note speaker.

After a series of recent activities and announcements, NII will bring together community leaders and private sector partners to officially launch NII and provide an update on what to expect over the coming months.

“We have had a number of exciting events and announcements over the past year, including the announcements in June that we are now an operating not for profit entity with a home,” said NII President Frank Saunders. “We are particularly excited to have Colonel Mike join our launch event and the opportunity it brings for NII to demonstrate to our community, our student population, our businesses, our industry and Ontario that we are ready to lead Canada to a smarter, cleaner, healthier, safer and brighter future.”

In June, NII became an incorporated not-for-profit organization and, last week, with the announcement of securing a location, NII is focusing its efforts on becoming fully operational, with a robust membership and mandate by the end of 2019.

NII has been actively securing founding members and additional partnerships – which are expected to be announced during the launch event, while officially opening NII to General Membership.

Mullane is a former United States Air Force pilot who became an astronaut and was selected as a Mission Specialist in 1978 in the first group of Space Shuttle Astronauts. He completed three space missions about the Shuttles Discovery and Atlantis before retiring from NASA and the Air Force in 1990.

Mullane is an inducted member of the International Space Hall of Fame and is the recipient of many medals, including the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit and the NASA Space Flight Medal.

Since his retirement from NASA, Mullane has written an award-winning children’s book, Liftoff! An Astronaut’s Dream, and a popular fact book, Do Your Ears Pop in Space?

source: media release, NII