In the early 1960s, an engineer introduced the idea of a lifeboat for a space station in hopes of saving astronauts should an emergency arise.

Now, 40 years later, Robert Brodsky is still trying to make his idea known and put it into action.

Brodsky will explain his idea in more detail Thursday at Howe Hall.

“I think [students] will find out what NASA is planning for the manned space program,” Brodsky said.

Brodsky recently visited with NASA’s second commander to explain his idea of a lifeboat for a space station, he said.

“NASA has their own ideas, [but] their approaches are expensive,” Brodsky said. “Mine is just a simple lifeboat.”

The idea behind the lifeboat is to give the crew on the space station a chance to make it back to earth safely, Brodsky said.

“[The lifeboat] doesn’t guarantee they’ll get back,” Brodsky said, “but it gives them a good shot.”

Paul Hermann, temporary associate professor of aerospace engineering, worked with Brodsky and recommends students attend Brodsky’s speech.

“[Students will] get information and a concept of what an older person thinks about the business of space,” he said.

The device Brodsky is promoting would be a partial solution to problems that could threaten the space station crew, Hermann said.

Brodsky is a retired professor from the University of Southern California. He served as head of the aerospace engineering department at Iowa State from 1971 to 1980.

During his nine years at Iowa State, he invented two new courses.

The university wanted to create more of a space emphasis, Brodsky said.

The first course he designed was spacecraft systems design. The course covered all the different sub-systems of satellites, he said.

The second was the principles and techniques of remote sensing, which involved taking pictures from space.

“I introduced space into the state of Iowa,” Brodsky said.

Brodsky said he has an extensive history involving aerospace engineering.

“I got into the space business in 1959 when the first U.S. satellite was launched,” Brodsky said.

Brodsky was responsible for the aerodynamic design of the early atomic bombs and the first hydrogen bomb while he worked at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M., he said.

He worked at Aerojet in Azusa, Calif., as a chief engineer and was quoted in Time Magazine for his novel idea on the power glider.

“It was the first time my mother wasn’t mad that I hadn’t become a real doctor,” Brodsky said.

Tom Shih, professor and chair of aerospace engineering, said Brodsky will help students understand the issues and challenges involved with the space station

“I think the space station is an important part of our space program,” Shih said.

Brodsky will speak in at 1:10 p.m. in 1235 Howe Hall.