CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Former NASA astronaut Winston Scott joins QC Life’s Jana Angel for an episode of Coffee & Conversations.
Watch the full conversation in the video player up above.
Jana Angel writes: This week on Coffee & Conversations, our guest truly knows how to shoot for the stars: Meet former NASA astronaut and Navy pilot Winston Scott.
A Florida State University graduate, Scott began his career in 1972, when he entered Naval Aviation Officer Candidate School.
He earned his wings in 1974, and went on to fly both helicopters and high‑performance jets, including the SH‑2F LAMPS helicopter and the F‑14 Tomcat.
Over the course of his career in the Navy, Scott became an aerospace engineering duty officer, a production test pilot, and a research, test, and evaluation pilot. He ultimately logged more than 7,000 flight hours in 25 different military and civilian aircraft, and over 200 shipboard landings.
Selected by NASA in 1992, Scott flew as a mission specialist on two Space Shuttle missions: STS‑72 on Endeavour in 1996, and STS‑87 in 1997.
He spent a total of 24 days in space and completed three spacewalks, working on satellite retrievals and testing tools and techniques that would later support the construction of the International Space Station.
After retiring from NASA and the U.S. Navy in 1999, Scott transitioned into higher education and leadership roles.
He served as Vice President for Student Affairs at Florida State University, Executive Director of the Florida Space Authority, and later held several senior roles at the Florida Institute of Technology, including Dean of the College of Aeronautics and Senior Vice President for External Relations and Economic Development. He also spent time in industry as Vice President and Deputy General Manager for Jacobs Engineering’s engineering and science contract group.
Now a professor emeritus at Florida Institute of Technology, Scott serves on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards. He continues to speak publicly about leadership and spaceflight. Scott is also the author of “Reflections From Earth Orbit,” in which he chronicles his journey from Naval aviator to astronaut.
About Community Matters Cafe: This local spot might seem like a great place to get caffeinated and fill up on delicious eats, but it is so much more than that. Community Matters Cafe is a live learning lab where graduates from the Charlotte Rescue Mission complete a 180-day life skills and rehabilitation program to build confidence and restore hope. This was the perfect place for Coffee & Conversations, because we are all brewing something beautiful together.
Watch all Coffee & Conversations episodes
Check out all of our season one episodes of Coffee & Conversations in the video playlist below.
What Coffee & Conversations is all about
Jana Angel writes: Coffee & Conversations. Two of life’s greatest pleasures.
In a world that’s generally peppered with more chaos than calm, there’s nothing like unwinding with a cup of coffee and a chat with someone you care about.
Or someone you just met. Or someone who simply has something interesting to say. (And, let’s face it: Everyone has a great story to tell.)
WBTV presents Coffee and Conversations(WBTV)
I’ve always felt like the proverbial coffee house brings a feeling of being grounded, especially during a hectic time. But I’ve also always felt that coffee houses are just … cool.
Maybe it’s because I was raised on “Friends,” and saw the coffee shop (aka Central Perk) as the place where the cool kids always hung out. The place where the brews pulled people in, and pulled out their stories.
I desperately wanted to be an intellectual with a laptop and a cappuccino typing away at some life-change prose that someone would read someday. The coffee shop was filled with a community of people who all seemed to be doing something so important.
It took me forever to actually like the taste of coffee. And I never felt like I fit into the “cool” category.
But now that I’m a “grown up” (winces slightly), I’m taking a step out of my comfort zone and into that coffee shop. I want to not only meet the cool people in our community, but also learn from them.
With my new WBTV series Coffee & Conversations, I’m going chat with people who are working to get the most out of their lives. People who are making choices every day to brew the life they’ve dreamed for themselves.
WBTV Coffee and Conversations(WBTV)
I want to bring to life stories about the choices we make to fill our own cup, and then pour into others. Stories that can help you and I feel more confident to dream bigger, be bolder, and just do the things we want to do.
Stories of people right here in our Charlotte-area backyard that we can all learn and grow from.
These stories will be from people you may have never heard of, or maybe people you haven’t met yet. Whoever they are, we’ll meet at a coffee house and brew something beautiful together.
Be sure to tune in to Coffee & Conversations, where our stories will leave you feeling inspired, vulnerable, playful, encouraged, and invited to dream really freaking big! I hope it will mean as much to you as it does to me.
You can find each guests’ full interview and article on the Coffee & Conversations page here.
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