Why Mars? Inspiring a nation to greatness: Charles Precourt at TEDxBend

Precourt launched on his first space flight in 1993, aboard the Columbia. A highly decorated veteran of four different missions, Precourt was Chief of the Astronaut Corps from 1998-2002 and was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2012. He retired from NASA in 2004 and now leads the Space Launch Division at ATK, where he is overseeing the development of a launch system that he hopes will enable human-manned deep space exploration. Whoa.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)