Aboard the Space Shuttle

(A Scientist's Experience)

by Fred Leslie , Payload Specialist, USML-2 (STS-73/Columbia)
At several points, I link to a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the mission.

Every kid wants to be an astronaut

When I was born, no one on Earth had rocketed into space (FAQ). Human space flight began in 1961 and, back then, I could not imagine anyone not being fascinated about that experience. The seven Mercury astronauts (selected in 1959) and the Apollo-era astronauts (selected in the 1960s) were certainly the pioneers of this new frontier. I think every kid at the time fantasized about being an astronaut. I did, but astronauts in the early 1960s were military pilots with 20/20 vision and I was already wearing glasses by elementary school. Besides, I was more interested in doing things in science than in joining the military. So, I never pursued that idea past childhood.

I did tinker with science through my high school years: a chemistry set, homemade rockets (don't try this now; only use kits), amateur astronomy, and photography. At 18 I started sky diving and later learned how to fly (I now have a commercial instrument rating).

Opportunity knocks

In the 1980s, NASA started selecting people from outside the astronaut corps to operate experiments aboard the Space Shuttle. I was picked to help run experiments for the U.S. Microgravity Laboratory-2 (USML-2) mission in 1995.

You train

Training means spending hours with your nose in books -- and taking the occasional swim.

You get ready to go - and wait

You don't always go on the first try. We had a few false starts, which is not unusual.

Finally you launch.

But you keep trying until you do go. And we did, on Oct. 20, 1995.

Working in orbit

Working in orbit is fun and demanding.

Return to Earth

Eventually, you return to Earth.

Updated Jan. 28, 1997

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Authors: Dr. Fred W. Leslie , Dave Dooling
Curator: Linda Porter
NASA Official: Dr. Gregory S. Wilson