Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 8, 1995 TAG: 9509080081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Evan Lineberry, an eighth-grader at Roanoke's Addison Aerospace Magnet School, met one of his heroes Thursday: Jon McBride.
Many schoolchildren may not recognize the name, but Lineberry knows all about McBride: He's a former astronaut who piloted the space shuttle Challenger.
"I think it is awesome. I've been waiting a long time to meet a real astronaut," said Lineberry. "I'm excited."
Addison pupils learn about astronauts and space travel in the school's aerospace program. That's why Lineberry came to the school three years ago.
Lineberry and several friends want to be astronauts when they grow up. They wore their space flight suits when they went to meet McBride.
The space program is part of the daily environment and life at the magnet school, where the halls are named Gemini, Columbia and Challenger.
All pupils take simulated space missions in the school's space center, which has a mock mission control, space shuttle and space station. Pupils then compete for an annual trip to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala.
In addition to basic courses, such as English and science, pupils learn about such fields as astronomy, rocketry, space flight and aerospace technology.
McBride is the first former astronaut to visit Addison and meet with pupils since the school began its aerospace program five years ago.
The school treated him like a hero.
McBride spoke at an assembly, shared his flight experiences, signed autographs and toured the space center.
McBride said he was impressed with the space program and facilities at Addison, a school that he had heard about.
A resident of Lewisburg, W.Va., McBride is a candidate for next year's Republican nomination for governor in West Virginia. His father grew up in Franklin County and he has relatives still living there.
He is familiar with the Roanoke Valley, having worked as an engineer on the construction of Interstate 81 before he became a Navy combat pilot in Vietnam.
McBride is the latest in a series of former astronauts, such as Sens. John Glenn and Jake Garn, who have gone into politics.
In 1984, McBride piloted the Challenger on an historic eight-day mission that was the first time women flew in space. Two women, Sally Ride and Kathy Sullivan, were part of the seven-member crew.
He later was appointed assistant administrator of NASA by Presidents Reagan and Bush.
McBride kept the pupils' attention for nearly 40 minutes as he described the beauty - and the unglamorous details - of space flight.
"We could look down and see the countries as we passed over the Mediterranean," he said. "We could see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every 24 hours. A sunrise would last about 10 seconds."
The crew could see many attractions and landmarks from the space vehicle: the Great Wall of China, the Aswan Dam, major cities around the world, even Dulles International Airport.
It took 12 minutes to go from the East Coast to the West Coast of the United States on the space shuttle, McBride said.
Astronauts have to be very careful in eating and going to the bathroom in space.
If a bean or piece of food gets off the fork, he said, it floats away. All liquids must be drunk from straws. Clamps have to be attached to straws immediately when one stops drinking to prevent the liquid from floating out, he said.
Astronauts use specially designed toothbrushes with the toothpaste already on them, he said.
Future space missions will become much longer and require astronauts to stay in space more than two years on some trips, McBride said.
He told the pupils NASA is planning a trip to Mars in about 2012. It will take about a year to reach the planet and a year to return, he said.
McBride said Addison pupils are old enough to be considered for the Mars flight if they establish it as a goal and are willing to work to become an astronaut.
"You've got to stay in school. You've got to set goals, and you've got to stay away from drugs," he told the pupils.
by CNB