Spaceman
Page 29
When I was living in Atlanta, teaching at Georgia Tech and waiting to see if I was going to be chosen to be an astronaut, the Atlanta Olympics were a couple of months away. They were already running those Olympic commercials on TV nonstop: Coca-Cola and McDonald’s and all that. It was a Friday afternoon when I found out that the call from NASA would be coming on Monday. That whole weekend I was up, pacing, anxious. It was everything I could do to get through it in one piece. There was this one commercial I saw that weekend. It had this kid. He starts out a little guy, and he’s running around in his yard. Then they cut to the next scene, and he’s a bit older, still running. He’s on a track now. He’s jumping hurdles, and with every hurdle he jumps he’s older. He’s running for his high school team, his college team. He’s training and he’s training and then, at the end, he’s an Olympian. He’s got U.S.A. on his chest. He’s running hurdles in the Olympics . . . and he wins. He takes the gold. Then, from the finish line, he turns and looks back down the track. He sees the little boy he used to be, standing there looking at him. The whole weekend, that commercial was all I could think about, this kid seeing his dream come true. Was that going to be me?
Still to this day I look back over the obstacles and hurdles I’ve overcome, and I see that seven-year-old boy standing there with his Astronaut Snoopy in his little spaceman outfit that his mom made for him, and I’m so glad he never gave up. Kids today, they don’t have any one big thing like the moon landing to inspire them like I did, but in a way they have something better. They can go on YouTube and watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon whenever they want. They can follow the Hubble on Twitter, go online and scroll through mind-blowing images from galaxies millions of light-years away. For years, all I had was a grainy VHS copy of The Right Stuff. These kids have the entire universe at their fingertips.
My childhood dream came true, but now I have a new one. I dream that some of these young people, while they’re out there clicking around, maybe they’ll find out about this book and find a way to get their hands on it—and when they do, they’ll know that even if you’re a skinny kid from Long Island who’s scared of heights, if you dream of walking among the stars you can do it. They’ll know that finding a purpose, being dedicated to the service of others and to a calling higher than yourself, that is what’s truly important in life. They’ll be able to close their eyes and imagine what it’s like in space, and when they open them again, they’ll look up at the sun and the moon and the Milky Way and see them with the sense of awe and wonder that they deserve.
And those young boys and girls, whatever their space dream is, they’ll go for it. Whatever hurdles are in their way, they’ll get past them. When they fall down, they’ll get back up. They’ll keep going and going, working harder and harder and running faster and faster until one day, before they know it, they’ll find themselves flying through the air. The hand of a giant science fiction monster will reach down and grab them by the chest and hurl them up and up and up, out to the furthest limits of the human imagination, where they’ll take the next giant leap of the greatest adventure mankind has ever known.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. With my copilot, Snoopy, July 1969. Backyard adventures in space.
2. With Mom and Dad at my Columbia graduation. They are smiling because they thought my formal education was over; little did they know . . .
3. Controlling the robot arm in my lab at MIT, with a 1980s hairstyle.
4. I’m on the left with (left to right) Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier and colleagues Mike Meschler and Lonnie Cundieff during a test of our manipulator position display at the Johnson Space Center in 1994.
5. With one-year-old Gabby on my shoulders and space shuttle Columbia on top of a 747 at Ellington Field, 1994.
6. With eight-month-old Daniel at Jekyll Island, Georgia, Spring Break 1996.
7. A very happy pose for my first official astronaut photograph.
8. Flying at what we called “the speed of heat” in a NASA T-38 above the Gulf of Mexico.
9. All dressed up and about to be lowered into the water for a challenging day of spacewalk training at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL).
10. The NASA astronaut class of 1996. The Sardines—thirty-five Americans and nine international astronauts, the largest (and best-looking) astronaut class ever. (Can you find me?)
11. With Dad, Mom, Carola, Gabby, and Daniel, at the Sardine astronaut class graduation, from astronaut candidates to official astronauts, April 1998.
12. With Mike “Bueno” Good (on robot arm) training in NBL. Divers on the right are holding an IMAX camera and filming the documentary IMAX: Hubble 3D.
13. Checking out the payload bay of space shuttle Columbia with Rick Linnehan (behind me). Our space-walking instructor Dana Weigel is next to Rick and apparently falling asleep after a late night at the Cape.
14. Team photo of Cold Lakes, Canada. Back row of astronauts: Greg Chamitoff, Lee Morin, Frank Caldeiro, Charlie Precourt, Dan Tani, and me. Front row of Canadian Army instructor tough guys: Sgt. Colin Norris (with impressive facial hair) is on the left.
15. The STS-109 taking a break from emergency training at the Kennedy Space Center. Space shuttle Columbia on the launchpad is in the background. Top row (left to right): John Grunsfeld, Scott Altman, Nancy Currie, and Jim Newman. Bottom row (left to right): Duane Carey, Rick Linnehan, and me.
16. The Hubble Space Telescope on the shuttle’s robot arm as seen through an overhead window in the space shuttle. Beautiful planet Earth in the background.
17. With Jim Newman (on left) to exchange an old for a new reaction wheel during our first spacewalk together.
18. Trying to look relaxed and cool for my spacewalking hero photo taken just minutes into my first spacewalk on STS-109. Notice the Earth in my visor.
19. Happy moment with Jim Newman after successfully completing our first spacewalk.
20. Rick Linnehan on the arm rotating a solar array and trying to not be distracted by the view of the Earth in front of him. My turn came the next day during nightfall, so there was no worry about such distraction.
21. Another boyhood dream fulfilled: ceremonial first pitch from the mound at Shea Stadium before the Mets versus Yankees subway series game, June 15, 2002.
22. The crew of STS-107 on orbit just days before they did not make it back to Earth onboard space shuttle Columbia.
23. Two space shuttles ready to go on the launchpad for the first time in history. Our spaceship, Atlantis, is in the foreground, and our rescue spaceship, Endeavour, is in the background along with a lucky rainbow in the sky.
24. The crew of STS-125 outside our ride to the launchpad on launch day (left to right): me, Mike Good, Drew Feustel, John Grunsfeld, Megan McArthur, Greg Johnson, and Scott Altman.
25. At the computer sending one of the first tweets from space to planet Earth.
26. With Drew Feustel in the airlock of Atlantis, wishing each other a last-minute good luck.
27. Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on its mission to unlock the secrets of the universe, May 11, 2009, at 2:01 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
28. Going into a sunrise during the fourth and final spacewalk of my astronaut career.
29. Having mixed feelings as I prepare for entry and landing on my last day in space, May 24, 2009.
30. With my copilot, Snoopy, May 2009. Same Snoopy, but now with real adventures in space.
3. With my copilot, Snoopy, July 1969. Backyard adventures in space.
2. With Mom and Dad at my Columbia graduation. They are smiling because they thought my formal education was over; little did they know . . .
3. Controlling the robot arm in my lab at MIT, with a 1980s hairstyle.
4. I’m on the left with (left to right) Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier and colleagues Mike Meschler and Lonnie Cundieff during a test of our manipulator position display at the Johnson Space Center in 1994.
5. With one-year-old Gabby on my shoulders and space shuttle Columbia on to
p of a 747 at Ellington Field, 1994.
6. With eight-month-old Daniel at Jekyll Island, Georgia, Spring Break 1996.
7. A very happy pose for my first official astronaut photograph.
8. Flying at what we called “the speed of heat” in a NASA T-38 above the Gulf of Mexico.
9. All dressed up and about to be lowered into the water for a challenging day of spacewalk training at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL).
10. The NASA astronaut class of 1996. The Sardines—thirty-five Americans and nine international astronauts, the largest (and best-looking) astronaut class ever. (Can you find me?)
11. With Dad, Mom, Carola, Gabby, and Daniel, at the Sardine astronaut class graduation, from astronaut candidates to official astronauts, April 1998.
12. With Mike “Bueno” Good (on robot arm) training in NBL. Divers on the right are holding an IMAX camera and filming the documentary IMAX: Hubble 3D.
13. Checking out the payload bay of space shuttle Columbia with Rick Linnehan (behind me). Our space-walking instructor Dana Weigel is next to Rick and apparently falling asleep after a late night at the Cape.
14. Team photo of Cold Lakes, Canada. Back row of astronauts: Greg Chamitoff, Lee Morin, Frank Caldeiro, Charlie Precourt, Dan Tani, and me. Front row of Canadian Army instructor tough guys: Sgt. Colin Norris (with impressive facial hair) is on the left.
15. The STS-109 taking a break from emergency training at the Kennedy Space Center. Space shuttle Columbia on the launchpad is in the background. Top row (left to right): John Grunsfeld, Scott Altman, Nancy Currie, and Jim Newman. Bottom row (left to right): Duane Carey, Rick Linnehan, and me.
16. The Hubble Space Telescope on the shuttle’s robot arm as seen through an overhead window in the space shuttle. Beautiful planet Earth in the background.
17. With Jim Newman (on left) to exchange an old for a new reaction wheel during our first spacewalk together.
18. Trying to look relaxed and cool for my spacewalking hero photo taken just minutes into my first spacewalk on STS-109. Notice the Earth in my visor.
19. Happy moment with Jim Newman after successfully completing our first spacewalk.
20. Rick Linnehan on the arm rotating a solar array and trying to not be distracted by the view of the Earth in front of him. My turn came the next day during nightfall, so there was no worry about such distraction.
21. Another boyhood dream fulfilled: ceremonial first pitch from the mound at Shea Stadium before the Mets versus Yankees subway series game, June 15, 2002.
22. The crew of STS-107 on orbit just days before they did not make it back to Earth onboard space shuttle Columbia.
23. Two space shuttles ready to go on the launchpad for the first time in history. Our spaceship, Atlantis, is in the foreground, and our rescue spaceship, Endeavour, is in the background along with a lucky rainbow in the sky.
24. The crew of STS-125 outside our ride to the launchpad on launch day (left to right): me, Mike Good, Drew Feustel, John Grunsfeld, Megan McArthur, Greg Johnson, and Scott Altman.
25. At the computer sending one of the first tweets from space to planet Earth.
26. With Drew Feustel in the airlock of Atlantis, wishing each other a last-minute good luck.
27. Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on its mission to unlock the secrets of the universe, May 11, 2009, at 2:01 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
28. Going into a sunrise during the fourth and final spacewalk of my astronaut career.
29. Having mixed feelings as I prepare for entry and landing on my last day in space, May 24, 2009.
30. With my copilot, Snoopy, May 2009. Same Snoopy, but now with real adventures in space.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Similar to everything else I have done in my life, there is a long list of people who helped me on this journey of writing this book. Special thanks goes to: Tanner Colby, who captured my voice and heart, and helped me to transfer them onto the printed page; Kevin Doughten and the team at Crown Archetype, who saw what this book could be early on and gave me the guidance to make it happen; Peter McGuigan and his team at Foundry, who introduced me to the literary world and led me through the process; and Cathy Frankel and the team at MB Talent Management, for helping me manage all things related to the book. Many thanks also to the people who took time out of their busy schedules to review the manuscript in whole or in part: Megan McArthur Behnken, Fran Massimino, Jessica Marinaccio, Bob Gibson, and Dave Leckrone.
My deepest gratitude also goes to all those people who lived this unlikely journey with me: my friends and family; some mentioned in the book but most not, for lack of pages. You have made my life more than I dreamed of, and I hope this book is at least a small reflection of that.
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS
All insert photographs are courtesy of NASA except:
Page link: Collection of the author
Page link: Collection of the author
Page link: Collection of the author
Page link: Carola Pardo
Page link: Carola Pardo
Page link: Marc Levine, New York Mets photographer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MIKE MASSIMINO served as a NASA astronaut from 1996 to 2014. A veteran of two space flights to the Hubble Space Telescope, Mike and his crews set team records for spacewalking time, and he became the first person to tweet from space. He has played himself on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, was featured in the IMAX film Hubble 3D, and has appeared frequently in television documentaries and on late-night talk shows and news programmes. A graduate of Columbia University and MIT, Mike currently lives in New York City, where he is a professor at Columbia and an advisor at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2016
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Copyright © 2016 by Michael J. Massimino
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