GetRDoneStangs
06-25-2006, 07:46 PM
This is kinda... well.... u know what I mean...
Ag waits for his 1st shuttle launch
By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's class of 1996 was the largest ever. And four of the space shuttle Discovery's seven astronauts came from that group of pilots, engineers and scientists chosen a decade ago.
Among their classmates were three of the Columbia astronauts who died in the 2003 accident, a tragedy that put a halt to spaceflight for two years. Last summer was the first flight after Columbia. Now, as early as Saturday, comes the second space mission, one that will include the first Texas Aggie in space, specialist Michael Fossum - as well as a Longhorn.
"Three of our [NASA] classmates were in the accident, and that's a personal loss," said Piers Sellers, a class of '96 member along with crewmates Mark Kelly, Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson. Their Columbia classmates who died were David Brown, Laurel Clark and William McCool.
"It was a dark day for the agency ," Sellers said, "but at some point you kind of have to pick yourself up, take the next step, fix the problem, get back into the saddle, and that's what the agency has done in the past couple of years."
The upcoming mission will be led by commander Steve Lindsey, who has flown in space three previous times.
Other noteworthy personal details about Discovery's seven astronauts:
&8226; Three are rookies making their first space flight.
&8226; Six are parents. Among them they have a total of 16 children.
&8226; Two are foreign-born.
&8226; One will be the second African-American woman in space.
A&M graduate Fossum, Class of '80, plans to bring to the space station a university flag which he will bring back for his alma mater. But he may want to hide it from fellow crewmate Wilson, who went to graduate school at the University of Texas.
"I kind of wish I was the third Aggie in space," said Fossum, who has master's degrees in systems engineering and space science. "It's not like me to make a big fuss about this."
The 48-year-old Fossum not only will be flying for the first time in space, but he will also make his first spacewalk. The rookie will make at least two excursions outside the space station with Sellers to test inspection and repair techniques on the shuttle. A third spacewalk is possible.
Fossum has been an astronaut for eight years but his service with NASA stretches back to the early 1980s when he went to work at Johnson Space Center after completing graduate work at the Air Force Institute of Technology. It took him several tries to join the astronaut corps, although he spent most of the 1980s as an Air Force test pilot.
As a child, he cherished a book on the Apollo program and wrote in it, "I too am going to the stars." He rediscovered the book a few years ago in a box of childhood items and thought, "My goodness. Look what you wrote!"
Fossum was born in Sioux Falls, S.D., but grew up in McAllen. He is married and has four children.
Meanwhile, mission specialist Wilson may be a Harvard graduate, but she got her master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas, sworn enemies of Fossum's Aggies.
"I'm trying to figure out how I can collect all of the Aggie items so they don't appear [in photos]," Wilson said.
Wilson, 39, will help operate the shuttle's 50-foot robotic arm, attached to a 50-foot boom, during inspections for any damage to Discovery.
"It's very difficult to know where all parts of the arm and boom are at any particular time," said Wilson, who will be the second African-American woman in space. "That sometimes becomes the tricky part."
Other astronauts on the mission are:
&8226; U.S. Air Force Col. Lindsey, the mission commander, who is no stranger to high-profile missions. He was the pilot of the Discovery flight that returned John Glenn to space in 1998.
He said he believes NASA has made the appropriate improvements to the shuttle's external fuel tank, where the risk of foam insulation snapping off during launch remains. The issue has been openly debated in recent weeks, and some NASA safety experts contend more changes should be made before the next launch. But they were overruled by NASA head Michael Griffin.
Lindsey, 45, said he welcomed the debate. But enough talk.
"We've done all that testing," he said. "It's time to fly."
&8226; U.S. Navy Cmdr. Kelly, the pilot, who also served as the pilot on Endeavour in 2001 during the 12th shuttle flight to the International Space Station.
"My first time, in 2001, I realized how risky the space shuttle is," Kelly said. "I was well aware of the risks, and it makes it more real for me this time because of an accident that killed seven of my friends."
&8226; U.S. Navy Cmdr. Nowak, mission specialist, whose son was in preschool when she joined the astronaut corps in 1996. The 14-year-old boy now is about to start high school, and she has yet to fly in space. But that likely will change shortly.
"It never got to the point where I was frustrated, upset or said, 'Hey, why isn't it my turn?'" said Nowak, 43, who also has 4-year-old twin girls. "I was always happy with what was coming and what I was doing."
&8226; Mission specialist Sellers, already is scheduled to lead two spacewalks during Discovery's mission to the space station. But he's hoping Fossum and he can squeeze in an additional one to test out a new material for repairing cracked thermal tiles on the shuttle.
"The engineering team has worked this to death," Sellers said. "They really want to check out this material, and the only way to check it out is in space."
Sellers performed three spacewalks for construction tasks during his other trip to the space station aboard space shuttle Atlantis in October 2002. He holds a doctorate in biometeorology and did computer modeling of the climate system before becoming a U.S. citizen and joining NASA in 1996. The 51-year-old is from Crowborough, Sussex, in the United Kingdom.
&8226; European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, 48, from Frankfurt/Main, Germany, who is married and has two sons, ages 14 and 8.
Reiter is no stranger to long stays in space since he spent six months in the mid-1990s on Russia's Mir Space Station. The former test pilot has a master's degree in aerospace technology and joined the European Space Agency's astronaut corps in 1992.
http://www.theeagle.com/stories/062506/am_20060625048.php
Ag waits for his 1st shuttle launch
By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's class of 1996 was the largest ever. And four of the space shuttle Discovery's seven astronauts came from that group of pilots, engineers and scientists chosen a decade ago.
Among their classmates were three of the Columbia astronauts who died in the 2003 accident, a tragedy that put a halt to spaceflight for two years. Last summer was the first flight after Columbia. Now, as early as Saturday, comes the second space mission, one that will include the first Texas Aggie in space, specialist Michael Fossum - as well as a Longhorn.
"Three of our [NASA] classmates were in the accident, and that's a personal loss," said Piers Sellers, a class of '96 member along with crewmates Mark Kelly, Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson. Their Columbia classmates who died were David Brown, Laurel Clark and William McCool.
"It was a dark day for the agency ," Sellers said, "but at some point you kind of have to pick yourself up, take the next step, fix the problem, get back into the saddle, and that's what the agency has done in the past couple of years."
The upcoming mission will be led by commander Steve Lindsey, who has flown in space three previous times.
Other noteworthy personal details about Discovery's seven astronauts:
&8226; Three are rookies making their first space flight.
&8226; Six are parents. Among them they have a total of 16 children.
&8226; Two are foreign-born.
&8226; One will be the second African-American woman in space.
A&M graduate Fossum, Class of '80, plans to bring to the space station a university flag which he will bring back for his alma mater. But he may want to hide it from fellow crewmate Wilson, who went to graduate school at the University of Texas.
"I kind of wish I was the third Aggie in space," said Fossum, who has master's degrees in systems engineering and space science. "It's not like me to make a big fuss about this."
The 48-year-old Fossum not only will be flying for the first time in space, but he will also make his first spacewalk. The rookie will make at least two excursions outside the space station with Sellers to test inspection and repair techniques on the shuttle. A third spacewalk is possible.
Fossum has been an astronaut for eight years but his service with NASA stretches back to the early 1980s when he went to work at Johnson Space Center after completing graduate work at the Air Force Institute of Technology. It took him several tries to join the astronaut corps, although he spent most of the 1980s as an Air Force test pilot.
As a child, he cherished a book on the Apollo program and wrote in it, "I too am going to the stars." He rediscovered the book a few years ago in a box of childhood items and thought, "My goodness. Look what you wrote!"
Fossum was born in Sioux Falls, S.D., but grew up in McAllen. He is married and has four children.
Meanwhile, mission specialist Wilson may be a Harvard graduate, but she got her master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas, sworn enemies of Fossum's Aggies.
"I'm trying to figure out how I can collect all of the Aggie items so they don't appear [in photos]," Wilson said.
Wilson, 39, will help operate the shuttle's 50-foot robotic arm, attached to a 50-foot boom, during inspections for any damage to Discovery.
"It's very difficult to know where all parts of the arm and boom are at any particular time," said Wilson, who will be the second African-American woman in space. "That sometimes becomes the tricky part."
Other astronauts on the mission are:
&8226; U.S. Air Force Col. Lindsey, the mission commander, who is no stranger to high-profile missions. He was the pilot of the Discovery flight that returned John Glenn to space in 1998.
He said he believes NASA has made the appropriate improvements to the shuttle's external fuel tank, where the risk of foam insulation snapping off during launch remains. The issue has been openly debated in recent weeks, and some NASA safety experts contend more changes should be made before the next launch. But they were overruled by NASA head Michael Griffin.
Lindsey, 45, said he welcomed the debate. But enough talk.
"We've done all that testing," he said. "It's time to fly."
&8226; U.S. Navy Cmdr. Kelly, the pilot, who also served as the pilot on Endeavour in 2001 during the 12th shuttle flight to the International Space Station.
"My first time, in 2001, I realized how risky the space shuttle is," Kelly said. "I was well aware of the risks, and it makes it more real for me this time because of an accident that killed seven of my friends."
&8226; U.S. Navy Cmdr. Nowak, mission specialist, whose son was in preschool when she joined the astronaut corps in 1996. The 14-year-old boy now is about to start high school, and she has yet to fly in space. But that likely will change shortly.
"It never got to the point where I was frustrated, upset or said, 'Hey, why isn't it my turn?'" said Nowak, 43, who also has 4-year-old twin girls. "I was always happy with what was coming and what I was doing."
&8226; Mission specialist Sellers, already is scheduled to lead two spacewalks during Discovery's mission to the space station. But he's hoping Fossum and he can squeeze in an additional one to test out a new material for repairing cracked thermal tiles on the shuttle.
"The engineering team has worked this to death," Sellers said. "They really want to check out this material, and the only way to check it out is in space."
Sellers performed three spacewalks for construction tasks during his other trip to the space station aboard space shuttle Atlantis in October 2002. He holds a doctorate in biometeorology and did computer modeling of the climate system before becoming a U.S. citizen and joining NASA in 1996. The 51-year-old is from Crowborough, Sussex, in the United Kingdom.
&8226; European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, 48, from Frankfurt/Main, Germany, who is married and has two sons, ages 14 and 8.
Reiter is no stranger to long stays in space since he spent six months in the mid-1990s on Russia's Mir Space Station. The former test pilot has a master's degree in aerospace technology and joined the European Space Agency's astronaut corps in 1992.
http://www.theeagle.com/stories/062506/am_20060625048.php