Stephen Robinson鈥檚 36-year career at NASA included four space shuttle missions and three spacewalks, but before that, he was a musician.
As an undergraduate at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, Robinson 鈥78 played the tuba in the Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh! and later he always found time for music, even as a busy NASA scientist and astronaut and now as professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
鈥淚 never stopped,鈥 said Robinson. 鈥淭he great thing about music is that you can take it with you wherever you go, you can participate as much as you want, and you can constantly learn. It鈥檚 a lifelong passion.鈥
He鈥檚 been a member of folk group Bandella 鈥 made up of mostly retired astronauts 鈥 since its formation about 15 years ago. Its members have really gone the distance during that time 鈥 playing together in space and even via radio in mission control when apart. As Robinson put it, 鈥淲e鈥檙e often flung all around the globe and sometimes even off the planet.鈥 Music has long been a unifier among space crews, added Robinson, who plays the guitar, banjo, mandolin, pedal steel, cello and upright bass.
鈥淢usic itself is pretty technical, and exploring space requires a lot of creativity and ingenuity,鈥 he said. 鈥淭o me, it鈥檚 all the same subject: What more can the brain do?鈥
Last summer four members of Bandella, including Robinson, reunited for a one-night gig at The Palms Playhouse in Winters. Next year, he said, the band will perform in Toronto, Canada, but may also return to Northern California.