Summary:
In this episode, we’re exploring my family’s role in the business of launching people and payloads into orbit that has spanned three generations. For over 60 years, at any given time, at least one member of my family has been working in support of human spaceflight. In fact, my grandfather, dad and I each worked on the Space Shuttle program at the end, middle, and beginning of our respective aerospace careers. I had the chance to sit down with my dad, Tony Quandt, and my grandfather, Paul Quandt, to discuss the past, present, and future of working in the aerospace industry. In this episode, we launch into my grandfather’s transition from carpenter, to rocketeer.

From Intercontinental ballistic missiles stored underground, to the space shuttle, Paul Quandt’s career included many memorable moments including the brink of a nuclear war and rocket scientist blow gun pranks. Sit back and listen as we explore his career as well as his thoughts on the current efforts to occupy mars and return humans to the surface of the moon.

Guest Bio:
Paul Quandt, never imagined that his life would take him from a farm in Mount Pulaski, Illinois to the Florida’s Space Coast where he bore witness, and took part, in many historical highs and lows of human spaceflight. While Paul could not have imagined the route his own career would take, he was even more surprised to see two more generations of his family join the family business of putting people and payloads into space.