THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 2, 1994 TAG: 9412010196
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Astronaut Jeff Wisoff spent about 45 minutes talking to an assembly at Pembroke Elementary School last week. That's roughly half the time it takes him to circle the Earth in a space shuttle.
Wisoff returned a school mascot T-shirt that the students had signed for him to take on an October space flight. The school mascot, Mustang, could be a bit tired. After all, he traveled 4.7 million miles in 11 days. He and the crew of the space Shuttle Endeavor orbited the Earth 183 times at 25 times the speed of sound.
Wisoff gathered his high-flying colleagues' signatures on the shirt and presented it to the students during the Nov. 23 assembly in the school gym. Wisoff's niece, Whitney Napolitano, 6, is a student there.
Jason Bach was impressed with Wisoff's talk and slide show. It even changed his career path, however temporarily.
``I want to be an astronaut, too,'' said Jason, 10, a fifth-grader. ``Or maybe a policeman.''
After Wisoff's presentation, Jason led the his fifth-grade class in singing the Air Force song in honor of Wisoff's previous service in the Air Force. Other grades sang the themes of the other branches of the service.
Wisoff, 36, was born in Norfolk and graduated from Norfolk Academy in 1976. He became Dr. Wisoff in 1986, when he received a doctorate in applied physics from Stanford University. He taught physics at Rice University in Houston before becoming an astronaut in July 1991.
``There are two types of astronauts now: the miltary pilots and the civilians who perform the scientific work,'' said Wisoff.
The original seven astronauts were military personnel.
``We have civilians now because the shuttle is large enough to accommodate bigger payloads and there's more work for engineers, scientists and physicians,'' Wisoff said.
He told the 679 Pembroke students what it's like to orbit the Earth in a space craft.
``It's like a camping trip with your best friends. We sleep in sleeping bags and eat dehydrated foods, like the kind you'd eat on a camping trip,'' Wisoff said. ``We take sponge baths.''
The latter statement was applauded by several boys in the assembly.
The slides showed views of the entire planet. The October mission was undertaken to study the Earth's environment. Other slides showed the Endeavor crew going about their work routine and daily living in outer space.
``The assembly had a very patriotic tone, with the military band and the songs,'' Principal Nancy Rosenblatt said. ``And Dr. Wisoff's talk and show were well-received.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by CHARLIE MEADS
Astronaut Jeff Wisoff said of orbiting the Earth in a space craft:
``It's like a camping trip with your best friends.''
Sitting among the 679 Pembroke Elementary students were the parents
of astronaut Jeff Wisoff, Pat and Karl Wisoff of Norfolk. The
astronaut returned a T-shirt he took into space with him.
by CNB