 However, yesterday the students and staff at Washington-Monroe
School were all attentive because the people who were talking to
them were talking about their son, astronaut Scott Altman, who has
circled the world many times over during his space career.Fred
and Sharon Altman, parents of the Lincoln-born and Pekin-raised
astronaut, came to the school and in an engaging and interesting way
held the attention of an entire school ready to lift off for summer
vacation. The Altmans brought several different space items as well
as a videotape of a shuttle launch to help with their presentation.
If there is ever a story of boyhood dreams accomplished, Altman
is right up there with any such example. The 49-year-old astronaut
recently returned safely with his Atlantis crew after a mission to
work on the Hubble Telescope.
Perhaps Scott knew all along that someday he would be a familiar
face in outer space. His mother, Sharon, showed a second-grade
picture of a rocket Scott drew and how he wrote of rocketing to the
moon.
As a high schooler, Altman wanted to be an Air Force pilot, but
at 6-foot-4 inches he was too tall. Thus, he went to the University
of Illinois and received his degree in aeronautical and
astronautical engineering. "He figured if he couldn't fly planes, he
would build them," his mother told the students.
Mrs. Altman explained that when Scott found out the U.S. Navy had
different standards for height for pilots, he enlisted and received
his Navy wings in February 1983.
As a naval aviator, Altman completed two deployments to the
Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, flying the F-14A Tomcat. In 1987,
he was selected for the Naval Postgraduate School-Test Pilot School
Coop program and finished with Test Pilot School Class 97 in June
1990 as a distinguished graduate.
After graduation, Altman spent the next two years as a test
pilot, which included flying the F-14D on its first operational
deployment. He was awarded the Navy Air Medal for his role as a
strike leader flying over southern Iraq in support of Operation
Southern Watch. Shortly after returning, Scott was selected for the
astronaut program.
His mother mentioned to the students that Scott flew an F-14 in
the movie "Top Gun" and recommended that the youngsters ask their
parents about that movie.
The Altmans presented many interesting aspects to their son's
activities as a astronaut. Of the 497 people who have been in space,
Scott is the tallest. He now has four space missions in his resume
The Altmans also had the children enthralled as they explained
that in space an astronaut is weightless. They brought along various
food items that astronauts eat and explained how all the food bags
have Velcro attached so the astronauts can attach it to the Velcro
on their pants to keep things from flying around.
Fred Altman brought out a burst of laughter from the students
when he explained the toilet procedure to the children. Explaining
how it is important to operate the toilet correctly, Fred said, "You
wouldn't want those things flying all over, would you."
The youngsters also thought it was great that in space there is
no up or down and that if you wanted to eat your meal on the ceiling
of the shuttle, you could.
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Using a scale-model shuttle, Fred also showed that the space for the
astronauts is very small, with most of the room used for required
storage for what the mission needs. He likened a stay in the shuttle
to having seven people living in a school bus for two weeks. "You
have nowhere to go and there is no pizza delivery," Fred explained.
Both Altmans explained how this last mission carried some
dangers, as the Hubble is 350 miles above the Earth. In the 200- to
400-mile range above our planet, there is a great deal of space
debris, including some debris from old satellites and rockets.
Although the larger objects are all tracked, Fred said that at
17,500 miles per hour, something as small as a BB can do damage to
the Atlantis space shuttle.
Subjected to 2,400-degree temperatures upon re-entry, that damage
could spell disaster for the shuttle, as it did for Columbia in
February of 2003, when a piece of foam broke off and created a small
hole in a wing, which caused the disaster.
For much of the country, astronauts are especially interesting
and special people. The Altmans explained that to Scott's three
children, that isn't the case. They are growing up and going to
school with kids of other astronauts. Scott's son Alex once
mentioned that the school had another astronaut visit the class.
Fred said his grandson asked why they couldn't get someone
interesting to come to school, like a plumber. Fred then told how
one of Scott's tasks in space was to install a new toilet. "So now
Scott's a plumber," he said.
Another fascinating bit of information was that after a stay in
space, an astronaut can become taller. On one mission Scott grew 2
inches, and it took a while for gravity to work and return him to
his normal height.
Altman has been fortunate, with so many astronauts in the space
program, to have flown four space missions, and his parents aren't
sure if he will have another chance. There are only a few more
shuttle flights planned, and the next space vehicle, Orion, is about
five years or so down the road from being operational.
When Fred and Sharon asked the students if they had any
questions, almost all the hands went into the air. One student asked
if they had cell phones on the shuttle. Fred said he didn't think so
but said his son once got a call from a friend who was on the
international space station while Scott was still on Earth. "I
wonder what the roaming charges were on that call?" Sharon quipped.
Taking about 15 minutes' worth of questions, the time approached
for dismissal, and Principal Becky Cecil jokingly asked the students
how many wanted to stay until 5 p.m. to talk to the Altmans. A great many
hands shot into the air. There were a few young men in the front row
who kept their hands down and under their armpits. No doubt future
Army.
[By
MIKE FAK]
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