Five questions for Joseph Tanner

Joe Tanner grew up in the ‘60s when “nearly everyone was enamored with the space race and would have loved to have been on one of those rockets with the heroes who were doing that.” At the time, Tanner didn’t think he could be a “superhero,” as the media referred to them, but the seed had been planted.

Tanner studied mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois, and just before he graduated, he found himself looking at recruiting posters for the Navy. His father had gotten him interested in flying, and he would borrow his father’s airplane so that he could log enough hours to earn his pilot’s license. At the same time, he began interviewing for engineering jobs.

“I decided I would be an engineer later and go fly airplanes” instead, Tanner said. “I got my pilot’s license the day before I joined the military at age 23 and a half. I got my license on a Sunday and shipped out with the Navy on Monday.”

A Navy squadron mate was one of the 35 original astronauts selected for the space shuttle program. As the pair talked about the program, Tanner decided to do everything he could to become an astronaut.

After 11 year as a Navy pilot, he became a NASA pilot in 1984. Then in 1992, he realized his goal of becoming an astronaut and over the years, was chosen for four space shuttle flights. In 2008, he retired from NASA and began looking for other opportunities. He had always loved the college environment and applied for a position at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He and his wife owned property near Telluride and planned to retire there someday, so working for the university has been the perfect transition from government life to pre-retirement. Tanner is a senior instructor in aerospace engineering sciences and directs a graduate and Ph.D. student project course.