Riding Rockets - Mike Mullane [16]
I called my mom and dad and they were as stunned as I. My dad and I laughed as we reminisced about launching my homemade rockets. I could sense that my mom, ever the pragmatic parent, was already anticipating the danger this new job would bring. No doubt her rosary was going to get a workout over the next couple years.
I called my commander in Florida. After offering his congratulations, he said Brewster Shaw and Dick Covey, both test pilots in the squadron, had also gotten Abbey calls. They were in. But other pilots were receiving rejection calls. I hurt for them. But not for long. My boundless, intoxicating joy roared back.
That night I bought beer for the rest of my Mt. Home AFB office and included them in my celebration. At that particular moment I was glad I was away from my home squadron. Most of the Idaho EF-111 flyers were from the USAF Tactical Air Command and none had applied for the astronaut program. My celebration with them was unalloyed. That was not going to be the case at my Eglin AFB flight-test squadron, which was filled with test pilots and test engineers. Virtually everyone had applied. The losers’ disappointment was going to be as crushing as my joy was over-the-top. Shaw and Covey would have their celebration tempered by the presence of people who were dying inside.
When I was sufficiently sober, I left for my apartment. The base was far out in the desert and the road was deserted. I honked the horn and screamed like a teenage girl at a rock concert. I rolled down the window and screamed into the icy wind. I detoured into the desert, got out of the car, and screamed some more. I couldn’t calm down. I punched the air with my fists. I jumped and sprinted and kicked the sand and laughed out loud. Finally, I hopped onto the warm hood, lay back, and watched the stars turn over my head, just as I had done on countless occasions as a child. When a satellite twinkled over, my heart gave a small lurch. God willing, in a few years, I would be riding rockets. I would be in a satellite…the space shuttle.
Now, two weeks later, I was standing with the other thirty-four astronauts of my group. Though our official report date wasn’t until July, NASA had gathered us all together for an early, formal introduction to the world.
The Astronaut Class of 1978
(towns and cities are birthplaces)
Pilot Astronauts
Daniel Brandenstein, Watertown, WI, Lieutenant Commander, USN, age 34
Michael Coats, Sacramento, CA, Lieutenant Commander, USN, age 32
Richard Covey, Fayetteville, AR, Major, USAF, age 31
John “J. O.” Creighton, Orange, TX, Lieutenant Commander, USN, age 34
Robert “Hoot” Gibson, Cooperstown, NY, Lieutenant, USN, age 31
Frederick Gregory, Washington, D.C., Major, USAF, age 37
David Griggs, Portland, OR, Civilian, age 38
Frederick Hauck, Long Beach, CA, Commander, USN, age 36
Jon McBride, Charleston, WV, Lieutenant Commander, USN, age 34
Steven Nagel, Canton, IL, Captain, USAF, age 31
Francis “Dick” Scobee, Cle Elum, WA, Major, USAF, age 38
Brewster Shaw, Cass City, MI, Captain, USAF, age 32
Loren Shriver, Jefferson, IA, Captain, USAF, age 33
David Walker, Columbus, GA, Lieutenant Commander, USN, age 33
Donald Williams, Lafayette, IN, Lieutenant Commander, USN, age 35
Military Mission Specialist Astronauts
Guion “Guy” Bluford, Philadelphia, PA, Major, USAF, age 35
James Buchli, New Rockford, ND, Captain, USMC, age 32
John Fabian, Goosecreek, TX, Major, USAF, age 38
Dale Gardner, Fairmont, MN, Lieutenant, USN, age 29
R. Michael Mullane, Wichita Falls, TX, Captain, USAF, age 32
Ellison Onizuka, Kealakekua, Kona, HI, Captain, USAF, age 31
Robert Stewart, Washington, D.C., Major, U.S. Army, age 35
Civilian Mission Specialist Astronauts
Anna Fisher, New York City, NY, age 28
Terry Hart, Pittsburgh, PA, age 31
Steven Hawley, Ottawa, KS, age 26
Jeffrey Hoffman, Brooklyn, NY, age 33
Shannon Lucid, Shanghai, China, age 35
Ronald