Astronaut Tells Students: Don’t Let Your Dreams Get Away

His childhood dream was to fly. That dream took Douglas Wheelock all the way to space. Now, the astronaut’s words of advice have reached back to earth, all the way to Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) students.

Colonel Wheelock spoke at an assembly at the high school to hundreds of science students. His speech was awe-inspiring and his message was clear, especially since it was delivered from a man with his background and achievements.

As a child, Wheelock did not know he wanted to be an astronaut, but he did know what he wanted to do. “All I wanted to do is fly,” he said.

And fly he did: He has spent 178 days in space, as a mission specialist in 2007, and was launched three years later on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. He spent six months aboard the International Space Station on that launch. After that mission, he assumed command of the International Space Station and the Expedition 25 crew, which launched in October, 2010.

WHAT IS THE DREAM YOU HAVE?

Wheelock told the RFH students to keep reaching for their dreams and “don’t let your dream get away from you.” He told students about his childhood, growing up in a small school and his experiences along the way. After that, Wheelock graduated from West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Science and Engineering. He also obtained a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech.

“What is the dream you have for your life?” he asked the students. That dream, he said, to other people “may seem crazy.” He knows from experience. Wheelock said that being an astronaut was a “world away, beyond what I could have imagined.”

“We have these dreams because they are put there, and if they are put there, there’s a way to achieve them,” he said. Whether students want to be a teacher, doctor, lawyer, policeman, missionary, “keep stretching yourself to reach that goal.” He also advised the students to “seek out those jobs and those people who share those dreams,” because then it “becomes contagious.”

That's what Wheelock did. He said he surrounded himself with others who had the same ambition as he did to fly. As a result, his goals and dreams expanded and “other doors and opportunities became available,” he said.

A REALLY BAD FEELING

Wheelock also told the students that problems arise along the way and they must be solved. He recounted a story from his time on the space station. On a Saturday night, he had just finished exercising and was headed to sleep. That’s when, “something really bad happened.” All the alarms at the space station started to go off, and sirens and lights were blinking.

“It was a really bad feeling. The space ship was slowly dying before our eyes. We were not sure what we were going to do,” he said. Everyone on board was now awake and “all five of the rest of my crew members were looking at me.”

He called mission control in Houston. “Mission Control, are you there?” he asked.

Mission control replied: “We’re here. We see it.” But no one was sure what to do. Then it was determined that a pump module had failed and half the station was shut down.

“We had to work 22 hours a day for three weeks to repair it,” Wheelock said. “You face a problem, you solve the problem. We worked the problem, it took three weeks and three spacewalks, but we got it fixed.”

Wheelock told the students about his trips to space. He recounted his trip last summer on the Russian Soyuz rocket. Compared to the space shuttle which is a smooth ride, the Soyuz was anything but, he said. “It feels like you are on the end of a merry go round,” he said.

Coming back home in that shuttle was not smooth either. “It is very small, you’re crushed up.” He said he was told coming back in that rocket, “there would be a series of loud explosions, followed by a really bad car crash and then it would smack to the ground and the mission is over.” And that was exactly how it happened.

For all the hours he logged in space, coming home is a nice experience. “Coming back to earth and smelling the air, it is wonderful,” Wheelock said. He pointed out that he spent six months in space, with no shower. But, during those six months he said he really learned how to be an astronaut because he lived and worked in space.

Wheelock showed the students a film he compiled of pictures from his trips to space. The photos included ones he took from space of various places around the world, his crew aboard the space station, and the unbelievable images of earth from above.

NO BONUS FOR SPACE TRIP, BUT NICE COMPANY CAR

Opening up the floor to questions, the students showed an interest in everything from bathroom in space to what do astronauts do to have fun. One student asked if he gets a bonus in his salary for traveling to space.

“No bonus,” Wheelock replied. “But, you get one heck of a company car.”

Another student asked if muscles atrophy in space. Wheelock explained that yes, they do, which is why two to three hours of exercise is needed to keep that from occurring and to avoid bone density loss, too.

Other questions: How do you go to the bathroom in zero gravity? Answer: a bathroom that works on pressure differential that keeps things where they should be. Another question was what do astronauts do for fun while in space? Wheelock said he did the twitter thing, and that kept him occupied, had a hand held radio that he spent time on, and read a lot. On Friday nights, barring any repairs that needed to be made, he and his fellow astronauts enjoyed movie night.

As for the food in space: It is the MREs (meal, ready to eat), that soldiers also eat, and he said they are really bad. Basically you “just eat to refuel,” he said.

Looking out at the students in the auditorium, Wheelock said that those who will be the future astronauts, who may set foot on Mars, are sitting right now in classrooms, maybe right here in RFH.

And where will Wheelock be? “I’d like to be sitting in a rocking chair, watching, and maybe drinking tea,” as those future astronauts, who are students today, walk on Mars.