When I was a little kid I thought the astronauts were THE coolest people alive. They got to go out into space, fly nifty spacecraft, and visit the Moon. I followed all the missions on TV, and once for a science project, I built an Apollo spacecraft with my dad. Sure, it was cardboard and wood, but it was MY spacecraft. I wanted to go out into space; still do, actually. But, for a variety of reasons, I’m a science writer and not a space astronaut, although I still do dream of going into space. Maybe someday…
I still think astronauts are among the coolest people I know. There are a lot more of them since I was a kid, and they aren’t all fighter pilots anymore. Many are scientists and mission specialists and teachers (yeah, how ’bout that teacher in space, eh?). I’ve even met a few astronauts over the years, and it’s nearly always been a pleasure to talk with them.
For the past few weeks I’ve been listening to a talking books version of astronaut Walter Cunningham’s book The All-American Boys.* It’s a pretty unique look at his experiences as an astronaut, along with some bracing commentary on NASA’s culture and evolution. I’m still working my way through the CDs (it’s a 22-CD set!), but it’s been quite inspirational so far. I’ve learned a great many “I didn’t know that” facts, such as the fact that in the early 1960s, an astronaut’s pay was around $13,000-$15,000 a year! Sounds like nothing now, but back in that time, it must have looked fantastic—and, you got to play with cool toys and go into space. What was there NOT to like? Plenty, as we learn in the book.
Cunningham does the reading, and at first I felt like I was listening to a pilot do the reading, what with the laconic style. But, behind that sometimes-deadpan delivery is a riveting story of what it was like to be selected as an astronaut in the mid-60s and an often-critical look at culture of his employer (charged with getting an American to the Moon before the Russians could do it). Even when he’s describing the unique (and apparently wart-filled) NASA culture of the time, Cunningham comes across with some very inspirational insights about what it takes to fasten on to a goal in life and then do everything you can to attain it.
So, listening to Cunningham describe his experiences brought me back full circle in my admiration of astronauts (and I plan to visit this theme a bit more when I write the full review of his book in a week or so, so stay tuned). We all have our heroes in life. Mine happen to include (but the list isn’t limited to) astronauts. Perhaps it’s a remnant of that period in my life when astronauts were the most public part of the mechanism that gave us the space program. I know that those guys (and a few women) who have gone into space are most definitely human beings behind that “hero” facade. Of course we all know about the astronauts who (like other human beings) make mistakes, very publicly. But, that doesn’t diminish what it took for most astronauts to help their countries achieve space flight and exploration.
There’s a valuable lesson to be learned in talking to (or listening to) astronauts, just as there’s one to be learned from honest, fair, and successful astronomers or doctors and others who have achieved great things in the sciences. Our future lies in the hands of these folks who explore and dream and achieve things that move humans forward (and not backward, as we are so painfully learning in the U.S. today).
