Space men touch down at Spangdahlem

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kali L. Gradishar
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Crew members from NASA's STS-129 mission to the International Space Station visited Spangdahlem Air Base Feb. 4 as part of an Armed Forces Entertainment tour focusing on military communities in the region.

The crew, which journeyed to the space station in November aboard space shuttle Atlantis for an 11-day mission, consisted of Marine Col. Charlie Hobaugh, STS-129 commander; Navy Capt. Barry Wilmore, pilot; and mission specialists Bobby Satcher, retired Navy Capt. Michael Foreman, Marine Lt. Col. Randy Bresnik and Leland Melvin. It was the first trip into space for Captain Wilmore, Mr. Satcher and Colonel Bresnik.

The purpose of the crew's visit was to complete an Armed Forces Entertainment tour in Germany to talk to troops about the mission that included taking pallets of equipment to the station and conducting space walks, said Colonel Bresnik, an astronaut since 2004. During the AFE tour, the crew visited many locations to include the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to visit wounded warriors and troops to thank them for their service, as well as going to all schools throughout the area.

The first Spangdahlem stop for the STS-129 crew was to visit Airman Leadership School and First Term Airman Center students.

"Over at the leadership school, we presented our mission video, a 22-min long video that summarizes what we did over our 11-day mission, which occurred back in November of last year," said Mr. Satcher, a graduate from Harvard Medical School and astronaut since 2004. "We actually took questions from the students there, and they asked really a lot of insightful and interesting questions (ranging from) what the personal experience was like to what the mission objectives were to what the future direction of NASA was.

"All very interesting questions and kind of reflective of the fact that they're undergoing this leadership training and thinking of how they might be applying lessons we learned to what they're learning," he added.

Just like with daily military communications, the crew shared what detailed coordination it requires for their missions to be successful.

"It involves all 50 states and many of the nations around the world," Colonel Bresnik said. "We shared with (ALS and FTAC students) that whole program - that it's an exciting place to be, it's a neat place to work, and it's something neat and forward that our nation's doing."

Colonel Bresnik explained that while the astronaut career field isn't solely military pilots, the military does provide ample opportunities to qualify as an astronaut.

"The biggest thing is education," he said. "You don't have to be a pilot to be an astronaut. The military gave me money to go to college on an ROTC scholarship. (My entire military career) allowed me to be qualified for NASA, and be considered to be an astronaut... the things I loved and things I thought were the most fascinating were the things that allowed me to transition into serving our nation in this manner."

Another similarity between the crew relayed between the military and the NASA mission was the fact that their missions are funded by American taxpayers, and oftentimes, taxpayers are interested in where their contributions are going.

"Everybody's a taxpayer. It's our space program," Colonel Bresnik said. "It's neat that we can have people who support and pay for the space program, to be able to answer the questions they have about what we actually do."

After the visit with ALS and FTAC students, the crew received a mission brief from Col. Kevin Anderson, 52nd Fighter Wing vice commander.

"It seems like there a lot of people doing a very important mission here at the base," Colonel Bresnik noted, comparing Spangdahlem to space," which is the same thing with NASA - it's just on a national level instead of over here in Germany."

For their final Spangdahlem stop, the STS-129 crew headed to the Mosel Dining Facility to visit with 18 Airmen from across the wing.

"I thought it to be a very engaging experience, and I hope that some of what we said will be something that benefits them," said Mr. Satcher. "I think it's also interesting for us because we learn a lot... getting the different perspectives, seeing the different backgrounds.

"I think it's always great to be there and answer questions and also interact with people who are serving in the armed forces. They're the people who I think are some of the most enthusiastic supporters of what we do... so it's a great honor to meet the folks in the military and show our support for them," he added.