Astronaut Delivers UConn Graduation Address From Space

You could say the commencement address at UConn’s engineering school was out of this world.

If he could have, University of Connecticut alumnus Rick Mastracchio would have delivered this year's graduation address to the university's school of engineering in person.

But he was out of town on May 10, and with a good excuse. Mastracchio is orbiting the globe on the International Space Station.

So UConn made arrangements to have the 54-year-old NASA astronaut give the speech from space.

More than 400 graduating seniors and their families watched his recorded address on video inside Gampel Pavilion on Saturday.

Mastracchio, perhaps the school's most famous graduate who is not in the NBA, earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer engineering from UConn in 1982.

He received an honorary doctorate during the ceremony.

The Waterbury native returns to earth from his eight-month mission and fourth trip into space on May 13.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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