Astronaut Eric Boe Bonds With Local Students

Two-time shuttle pilot Eric Boe arrived in Atlanta last week for a four-day tour of Dekalb County Schools to discuss his trip on the final 13-day mission of the space shuttle Discovery. His tour included visiting his former alma maters of Evansdale Elementary, Henderson Middle School (formerly Henderson High School), and Fernbank Science Center.

Evansdale Elementary hosted 'Eric Boe Day' in honor of Col. Boe's recent return from space and to his former elementary school. He toured Mr. Murphy's and Mrs. Bradley's second grade classrooms among many others. The students compiled special booklets about Col. Boe in preparation for his visit. “It is great to be back in the area that I grew up in,” he said.

Life as an Astronaut

When asked by a student how it felt to be famous, Boe grinned and replied, “I don't really think of myself as being that famous but I'm honored that you think that I am.” He continued: “One of the nice things about the job is when I go back and change into my civilian clothes a lot of people don't know who I am. So it's nice to not be so famous that it's always around me. Astronauts are just the visible part of NASA,” he said. “For every astronaut you see there are thousands of people making it happen.”

Astronauts come from all walks of life - fighter pilots, test pilots, scientists, engineers, teachers - before entering the NASA program. Additionally, they spend a considerable amount of time in training, not only as an astronaut, but as a candidate to be an astronaut. “This is so that [NASA] can see how you work together as a team,” Boe said. “Learning how to float, how to operate the space toilet, and how to eat in space are just some of the skills you pick up along the way.”

Boe stated that one of things that goes through his mind at liftoff is “This is awesome! It is like being on a giant amusement ride with all of the G-forces and the rolls. It's pretty cool watching the launch from the inside.” Being in space also gave Boe a unique perspective of our planet. “You get to appreciate the world when you're up high. And you look at the Earth and you realize how beautiful it is.”

International Presence in Space

During a presentation at Fernbank Science Center's Planetarium, Boe showed a special video highlighting key moments in Discovery's last mission to space and gave a slide presentation followed by a question and answer session.

“We've had people in space continuously for the last ten years. The [International Space Station] currently weighs approximately one million pounds,” he said. “This is probably the biggest the space station will be for the foreseeable future because [our crew] put the last module on.”

Discovery's last mission also brought the first humanoid robot to space. “I was one of the people who took the Robonaut 2 out of storage,” Boe said. “I am convinced that there will be times where we will need them to go where we would not want humans to go like in a fire or a vacuum, or to do simple tasks. We're going to find the right mix between robots and humans.”

American crew members actually have been going up and down to the International Space Station on the Russian Soyuz vehicle for the last three to five years. The Soyuz can be used to get crews to the space station or as an “ejection seat” in the event of a major medical emergency or a fire. All crew members from the 16 countries that work on the ISS use the Soyuz spacecraft to get up to space and return to Earth.

The Future of Space Exploration

Once the shuttle fleet is decommissioned, Discovery's new home will be in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.. “When the space shuttle ends we've already contracted with the Russians so we'll continue to fly our American crew members to the ISS using the Soyuz until 2014 to 2015 timeframe,” he said.

NASA is in the process of working with private companies to develop the next generation space plane to travel to the space station. “We're looking at new vehicles coming online around 2015 timeframe. There is a little uncertainly but there are a lot companies that are getting close to having that capability,” Boe said. “The more the merrier!” NASA's plan is to build a heavy-lift vehicle to take us back to the moon, to Mars and to the asteroid belt and go on to different places in the solar system.

Boe's aim in the future is to be part of an Expedition crew on the International Space Station. “I'd like to get to go on a six-month mission,” he said. “I'd [also] like to get an opportunity to fly one of the next generation space shuttles. If I'm really lucky, I would like to get the chance to go to Mars.”

Reaching for a Dream

Boe believes in imparting words of wisdom to young and old alike. “The first thing you've got to do in life is dream big,” Boe said. “I'm a big believer in setting goals pretty high. What I've learned along the way is that life is a journey and to enjoy the ride. Life is a journey of getting there. Any time I start thinking, 'Man, this is hard or this is difficult' I try to remind myself is that you only get one life, so enjoy it and enjoy it well. It is the challenging things that I remember most.”

“Find your passion. Your passion may be your job or your hobby. Whatever that thing is that you want to do in life, get out there and do it. You get that one chance, take and advantage of it and pursue it,” he said.

“Study hard," Boe added. "This goes for any career that you're interested in. Find out what it takes to do the thing you're interested in whether it is an astronaut, a doctor or an engineer to see if you really enjoy it. Work hard, and do a wide variety of things that aren't necessarily in your comfort zone. This will help you to expand your horizons. Don't give up. Keep applying yourself. There are always different ways to get to your goal.”