Chasing Space Young Readers' Edition by Leland Melvin

Author:Leland Melvin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-03-22T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

TRAINING FOR SPACE

I was finally going to get a chance to fly in space! I couldn’t help but think of Jeannette’s prophecy and marvel that it had come to pass. I called my dear childhood friend Mary Gordon, who had supported me throughout my NASA career, and told her the news. I think she was even more excited than I was because she saw it as an affirmation of faith. Persistence, prayer, and belief in yourself can indeed make great things happen.

Soon after that conversation I realized I had done all I could in the Educator Astronaut Program. We had succeeded in getting kids and teachers excited about the space program. A number of teachers we met had decided to apply to become astronauts, and our top choices would be moving on to the selection process in Houston. It was time for me to head back to Houston to be part of that final process.

In late May, I picked up Jake in Lynchburg and continued south to my home in El Lago, Texas. But we didn’t stay long. A couple of weeks later, Jake and I hit the road. I wanted to take a vacation before training started again. Jake and I visited the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and Yosemite National Park. We camped out and took in the natural environment. In Yosemite, a beautiful wilderness area characterized by granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, and giant sequoia groves, we sat by a campfire and I stared up at the night sky to see how many constellations I could name—the twins Castor and Pollux, Orion’s Rigel and Betelgeuse. One night Jake woke me, trying to get out of the tent by opening the zipper with his nose. For once he wasn’t barking. He was too busy trying to protect me from a bear that had wandered into camp!

Park rangers told us the next morning that a bear had been stealing improperly stored food and had broken into some cars with food in them. I was glad that Jake was smart enough to stay silent and that I was smart enough to keep him inside. We both could have been bear food.

In September 2003, I returned from my vacation back to the hustle and bustle of Houston. In addition to training, I was asked to serve on the astronaut selection committee. I was now on the other side of the table, listening to why applicants thought they had the right stuff to join the astronaut corps. I couldn’t believe how accomplished some of the candidates were—multiple PhDs, advanced pilot and scuba qualifications, and one had even hiked ten of the world’s ninety-six fourteeners (mountains that have peaks with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet).

I spent much of 2004 on the road while I waited for a flight assignment. The year began with a trip to Washington, DC, in January to serve as what I called an “Astronaut Potted Plant.” My job was to smile and nod while President George W. Bush talked about the future of the space program.

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