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  • A profile of Victor Glover with the text 'The Space Issue'
    Cal Poly's Astronauts

    Victor Glover

    As the engineering alumnus gets ready for a historic voyage beyond the moon, he shares how Learn by Doing prepared him to face the unknown.
  • A smiling man sits among the control panels in a spacecraft, with stickers reading "Cal Poly San Luis Obispo" and "Navy" pasted on the wall behind him.
    Cal Poly's Astronauts

    Robert "Hoot" Gibson

    From a childhood in the skies to orbital space flight, Cal Poly’s first alumni astronaut used Learn by Doing to carry him ever higher.
  • A man in a blue polo shirt and red cap gives a thumbs-up gesture as he floats in front of a wall displaying NASA space mission insignia
    Cal Poly's Astronauts

    Rick "CJ" Sturckow

    From road racing at Cal Poly to private space flight, one Mustang astronaut has spent four decades as the ultimate team player.
  • A man in an orange suit and space helmet looks up at mounted equipment in a mock spacecraft
    Cal Poly's Astronauts

    Greg Chamitoff

    Years of hard work and lifelong dreams of space propelled this Mustang to a historic mission aboard the International Space Station.
The space shuttle Challenger lifts off from the launch pad in 1984.
Journey to the Stars
Check out a timeline of Cal Poly’s major milestones in space exploration, including alumni astronauts in space, alumni pioneering private space exploration, and student-built CubeSats launching locally.

Preparing for Liftoff

  • Two students wearing blue jackets, hair nets and head sets in a clean room while installing the side plate of a CubeSat
    Featured

    Opportunities in Orbit

    Cal Poly’s CubeSat Lab broke barriers. Two decades later, students are still rewriting the story.
  • An illustration of musical notes, stars and a record with an alien spaceship on its cover.
    About Campus

    Space Jams

    Travel the cosmos with an interstellar playlist curated by KCPR’s student music director.
  • A portrait of Kanan Thummar with an illustrated space helmet and drawings of stars, moons and rockets.
    How I Learn by Doing

    Why I Reach for the Stars

    Aerospace engineering student Kanan Thummar is at his best in a worst-case scenario — which is why he wants to be an astronaut.
  • A rocket lifts off from the launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
    California Impact

    The Central Coast is Looking Up

    University faculty and programs are backing the Central Coast’s strides toward becoming a unique hub for the aerospace industry.
  • A man stands on a hilltop looking into a night sky filled with stars and a full moon.
    Editor's Desk

    A Higher Calling

    Editor Larry Peña reflects on why shooting for the moon still matters.
  • Head shots of United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno and Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong.
    The Last Word

    It's Just Rocket Science

    President Armstrong and alumnus Tory Bruno discuss Learn by Doing and meeting the needs of the future’s most critical industries.
A student looks up at a starry night sky in front of a telescope and a small, domed observatory
Big Picture
University Meets Universe
Nestled in between the arms of Building 52, the Cal Poly Observatory is both a portal to the stars and a tool for meaningful research.

A Legacy in Space

  • The Mars Perseverance rover in a clean room with an engineer wearing white coveralls and a mask while giving a thumbs up
    A Legacy in Space

    Mars Rocks!

    Alumna Christina Hernández has charted new territory — from Mars to distant asteroids — all while inspiring the next generation of Spanish-speaking engineers.
  • Two people wearing suits present a plaque and medal to a woman
    A Legacy in Space

    It All Adds Up

    A mathematics degree opened the door for Leslie Livesay to work on JPL’s most groundbreaking missions and become the lab’s first female deputy director.
  • A collage of images from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory campus, including a maker space and a building exterior.
    A Legacy in Space

    An Inspired Space

    Architecture alumnus Benjamin Tom helps shape the spaces at Jet Propulsion Laboratory so engineers and scientists can do their best work.
  • The SpaceShipOne spacecraft with six test pilots standing in front of it
    A Legacy in Space

    Chasing the Horizon

    Meet Peter Siebold and Michael Alsbury, two test pilots whose friendship and careers were intertwined through triumph and tragedy.

Latest News

  • Riding High
    Cal Poly continues streak as Best in the West for 33rd straight year
  • The Stench of Summertime
    A reborn corpse flower blooms on campus
  • New Heights
    Architecture students work with storied firm to dream up skyscraper designs
  • Surf's Up
    Wave generator created by engineering teams could charge Marine Corps batteries

Rewind

  • Why Study Art in a STEM World?
    Sara Frantz, chair of the Art and Design Department, speaks about the ways art is integral to the human experience.
  • The Future on Fire
    The director of the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Institute issues a dire warning about dual catastrophes on California’s horizon — and explains what Cal Poly is doing about it.
  • Behind the Scenes
    The technical director of the Theatre and Dance department shows us where the magic of the stage comes to life
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