Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002lblf.symp..203s&link_type=abstract
Looking Backward, Looking Forward: Forty Years of US Human Spaceflight Symposium, p. 203-216
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Human Beings, Education, Space Exploration, Astronauts, Aircraft Pilots, International Space Station, Space Flight, Low Earth Orbits, Moon
Scientific paper
This conference brings back fond memories for me. I recall Alan Shepard being at the Naval Academy in spring 1971 after he walked on the Moon. That was a special moment for me because I have always been interested in aviation. My dad was a Navy flier in World War II. My grandfather flew biplanes in France in World War I. It had long been one of my ambitious to be a naval aviator, but I found out shortly before that day in 1971 that I didn't have the eyesight to be a pilot. So I ended up being a Navy diver, a SEAL. I was sitting there listening to Al Shepard talk about his adventures on the Moon, and I was thinking I probably would never have to worry about doing anything like that. How strange events have turned. I bring that up because I enjoy talking to kids and making education a very relevant part of space exploration. I think we often forget what impact exploration, technology, and human spaceflight have on the young kids of this country. A little more personal history: I served in the Navy for thirteen years, was selected in 1984 to go to Houston and to start training as an astronaut. I flew three times on the Shuttle. They were very interesting flights. The longest flight I had was ten days. Right after that, I was asked to go to Washington for two weeks and help as the Administration had changed in 1992. In early 1993, there was a complete review of the Space Station program. We were in the middle of trying to decide whether Space Station Freedom would continue as a program or be canceled or be transformed into something else. So I had a lot of time in Washington working on how we would convert Freedom into something that was more feasible.
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