Photo Courtesy of Ted Bethune

Although Ted Bethune never pursued a formal education in space science, he has amassed a vast collection of space paraphernalia which includes films, photographs, slides and books. Notwithstanding, Bethune spends much his leisure time lecturing to children, senior citizens and other enthusiasts about NASA’s space program. 

By Randy Davis
 
 
Randy Davis (VCU Multimedia Graduate Student): Can you state your name and your age?
TB: My name is Ted Bethune, and I am 51 years old.

RD: Can you give us a history of how you became interested in the space program?
TB: Of course. I started out when I was 5 years old when I watched John Glenn make his flight into orbit back in1962. From there, I started checking out library books, reading and studying and during my own personal research. And I tried to keep up with everything on the national news at that time.

RD: What type of paraphernalia or collectable items have you collected over the years in regards to the space program?
TB: I have around five to 6,000 transparencies and slides, around 20 boxes of books, posters, telescopic equipment, binoculars, telescope and the list goes on.

RD: When did you start giving lectures?
TB: That started in 1984. It was conceived in 1983 as an idea or a concept and I worked from there…  

RD: What are your goals in giving lectures to children? What do you hope to achieve?
 TB: I hope to make the children as well as the public at large more aware of the benefits of the space program and how it affects us here on earth. Whereas it creates jobs, where it creates more business opportunities and also bettering medicine, engineering and different other aspects of everyday life.

RD: Can you name some schools or other places where you’ve given lectures?
TB: The Petersburg school system, Dinwiddie, Chesterfield, Hopewell and many others in the Petersburg tri-city areas and even the Richmond school system.

RD: Tell me about your educational level. Do you have any formal training in the space program?
TB: No I don’t. Just a high school education, that’s all I have. This is a hobby of mine.

RD: What are your goals regarding your interests in the space program? From this point on, what do you hope to achieve?
TB: I hope that one day, if it’s possible, to do this on a full-time basis. Whereas I can visit different schools and various organizations and spread the word about the benefits of the space program. My biggest interest right now is to see the Orion project get a good kick. Right now, they’re facing a budget crunch.

RD: Tell me a little bit about the Orion project.
TB: The Orion project has a background of Apollo and shuttle technology. Orion consists of a capsule that can carry four to six people at one time. The Aries vehicle can carry a payload like a Lander or habitation module into orbit or to another planet. And that’s the goal; to go back to the moon, first to stay and then onward to Mars and over time, I’m looking for them [NASA] to develop a nuclear power system for the Aries vehicle to push mankind out there further into deep space.

RD: Do you, yourself have any interest or desire to go into space?
TB: I would volunteer to go to Mars if such an opportunity would present itself to me. I would love it, even though the hardships would be difficult but it would be a challenge. But if I could settle for the moon, that would be just as good.

RD: Is there anything else you’d like to say about the space program and what you like to do?
TB: I enjoy going out showing materials and giving these slide and lecture presentations. I enjoy meeting people and explaining to them the benefits of the space program and how it helps us here on earth. And I would like to see more money and funding continue with the space program.