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Education helps fulfill dreams, astronaut tells area science teachers
By LINDA M. LINONIS
girard
Michael Foreman personifies persistence.
It took him eight attempts to become a test pilot for the U.S. Navy. Then he was invited to be an instructor.
He succeeded on his eighth try to become astronaut after undergoing a weeklong interview. He’s been on two missions — from March 11-27, 2008, and from Nov. 16-27, 2009 — and logged more than 637 hours in space including more than 32 hours in five space walks. His dream to be an astronaut began when he was 8 years old and living in Wadsworth, Ohio. “It’s just something I always wanted,” he said, adding that it didn’t hurt that he knew John Glenn and Jim Lovell were Ohioans.
Foreman relayed his journey from being a “down to earth” guy to an astronaut when he spoke Tuesday to some 250 science teachers attending Trumbull County Educational Service Center’s professional-development day at Girard High School. He also spoke to a group of GHS students.
Foreman is chief of external programs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. He is responsible for development and implementation of educational, informational and outreach programs that contribute to scientific literacy and relay Glenn’s mission on local, national and international levels.
The message he left with teachers and students was simple — education is the means to fulfill your dreams.
Foreman related a teaching moment from his father, who told him to research his interest. “I couldn’t Google it because that wasn’t around,” he said, adding he used encyclopedias. Foreman learned that his best route to becoming an astronaut would be to become a test pilot. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where he studied aerospace engineering, and then went to flight school.
Foreman said he continued to apply for test-pilot school but wasn’t accepted. A colleague suggested he pursue a master’s degree in his field. He reluctantly did so but now acknowledges “it was one of the smartest decisions I made.” Afterward, he was accepted to test-pilot school and later served as instructor.
In 1998, he was selected as an astronaut. He said launches are “like being in a 81/2-minute car wreck. You have trouble breathing, and everything is shaking violently,” he said. No wonder; astronauts are in a 41/2-million pound vehicle being pushed aloft by 71/2 million pounds of thrust in the form of solid propulsion.
Once in the 22-mile high orbit, Foreman said the shuttle is moving at 17,500 miles per hour. That’s 25 times the speed of sound, eight times faster than a bullet and 5 miles a second. “But you have no sense of speed,” he said.
“If you’re not an environmentalist before you go into space, you will be one after,” Foreman said, adding that earth looks “amazing” and the blue colors are indescribably beautiful.
Foreman said the experience made him “feel closer to heaven" and know that there is a “higher power.”
Because of the sheer vastness of space and the possibilities, Foreman said, “I have to believe there is some form of life out there.” He said that possibility is “a good reason to explore." But, no, he’s never seen a UFO or alien.
Foreman, who has taken five space walks, said the temperature outside the shuttle can ranges from 200 degrees to minus 200 degrees.
Back on Earth, Foreman said it takes a couple days to adjust to gravity. “Your sense of balance is off,” he said.
Foreman said robotics programs in schools, like the one at Girard, are terrific education for students. He noted astronauts train to work the robotic arms on the space station.
Joe Jeswald, Girard superintendent, said he hoped students were inspired by meeting Foreman and learning about his accomplishments.