PICTURES
5 years old
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Huntsville, Alabama
Elementary - Grade School - Houston
My father worked at NASA in Houston for many years. He had a Masters degree in Civil Engineering and worked in Building 4, in Flight Operations/Flight Planning, where the astronaut offices are located. He knew many of the astronauts on a first-name basis, and played tennis and went fishing with some of them.
In the 1960's, NASA missions were on the evening news, every day. It was a very big deal. Our cars had all of the NASA stickers for each mission.
He was the PTA President at my elementary school - even my teachers told me, he is "the best President we ever had." At 7 years old, can you imagine how much I looked up to my father? I thought he was the coolest guy in the world.
I was certain that I would be an astronaut.
My father taught me orbital mechanics before I had algebra in school. I wanted to know about every spacecraft system - how it worked, what were the problems, what was the math that explained it. Show me the diagrams. Endless questions.
My father worked at NASA in Houston for many years. He had a Masters degree in Civil Engineering and worked in Building 4, in Flight Operations/Flight Planning, where the astronaut offices are located. He knew many of the astronauts on a first-name basis, and played tennis and went fishing with some of them.
In the 1960's, NASA missions were on the evening news, every day. It was a very big deal. Our cars had all of the NASA stickers for each mission.
He was the PTA President at my elementary school - even my teachers told me, he is "the best President we ever had." At 7 years old, can you imagine how much I looked up to my father? I thought he was the coolest guy in the world.
I was certain that I would be an astronaut.
My father taught me orbital mechanics before I had algebra in school. I wanted to know about every spacecraft system - how it worked, what were the problems, what was the math that explained it. Show me the diagrams. Endless questions.
While in grade school, my father had my brothers and I, work most weekends at his rental properties, where he purchased older homes and then refurbished them, and rented them. I was paid $5 per day to assist with plumbing, roofing, sheetrock, electrical, etc. I learned alot. It was hard, sweaty, dirty work for someone as a kid. If you ever worked on a roof during the summer, then you know what I mean...
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Junior High - Houston
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Junior High - Houston
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High School - Houston
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High School - Houston
I paid for my flying lessons out of Hobby Airport, starting at 15 years old, and then was flying a Grumman TR-2 aircraft, by myself, before I had a driver's license. The airplane rental was $35/hour, wet. I earned the money for flying lessons by working at Bay Area Painting company - painting apartment complexes and townhomes. I made up to $400 per week during the summer, working up to 70 - 80 hours/week. Not bad for a high school kid at that time.
At 16 years old, I flew all around south Texas, including Galveston, La Grange, Corpus Christi, Beaumont. Imagine being 16 years old and buzzing a herd of cattle in rural Texas at 170 mph? It was good. Some of my friends in High School thought they were "cool" because they skipped school to go surfing in Galveston... "Whatever."
By 17 years old, I had purchased a Chevy Malibu (1975) and a Suzuki 550 motorcycle. I paid for both of these with my own money. I paid for the gas and insurance. My parents were oblivious to much of my life at this point, as long as I made straight "A's" - what were they going to complain about? One of my brothers was constantly in trouble with the law, and that became a big part of their focus now. I was sometimes out all night with a friend, on a school night, and they did not notice a thing. I had a "straight A" average in High School and graduated 3rd in my class out of about 750 students.
My father and mother were workaholics. My father worked long hours at NASA during the Apollo program. My mother worked long hours as an attorney.
I was one of 5 children. I was not "given" a handout. I worked hard and long hours for the things I wanted, and I earned it.
I did not find out until college, that I could never be an astronaut. At 6'-4" I was too tall. Even to this day, NASA has a strict limit on height. It is unfortunate because, there is no safety data for NASA to justify this discriminatory height policy. In 60 years, no astronaut has ever died or been injured because he had a physiological difficulty getting out of the cockpit.
I moved on to other interests, but never really abandoned becoming an astronaut. I would find another way...
At 16 years old, I flew all around south Texas, including Galveston, La Grange, Corpus Christi, Beaumont. Imagine being 16 years old and buzzing a herd of cattle in rural Texas at 170 mph? It was good. Some of my friends in High School thought they were "cool" because they skipped school to go surfing in Galveston... "Whatever."
By 17 years old, I had purchased a Chevy Malibu (1975) and a Suzuki 550 motorcycle. I paid for both of these with my own money. I paid for the gas and insurance. My parents were oblivious to much of my life at this point, as long as I made straight "A's" - what were they going to complain about? One of my brothers was constantly in trouble with the law, and that became a big part of their focus now. I was sometimes out all night with a friend, on a school night, and they did not notice a thing. I had a "straight A" average in High School and graduated 3rd in my class out of about 750 students.
My father and mother were workaholics. My father worked long hours at NASA during the Apollo program. My mother worked long hours as an attorney.
I was one of 5 children. I was not "given" a handout. I worked hard and long hours for the things I wanted, and I earned it.
I did not find out until college, that I could never be an astronaut. At 6'-4" I was too tall. Even to this day, NASA has a strict limit on height. It is unfortunate because, there is no safety data for NASA to justify this discriminatory height policy. In 60 years, no astronaut has ever died or been injured because he had a physiological difficulty getting out of the cockpit.
I moved on to other interests, but never really abandoned becoming an astronaut. I would find another way...
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College - Texas A&M University (TAMU)
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College - Texas A&M University (TAMU)
The Heroes
I learned to play the guitar, and started a band, without any formal lessons. This was my band at Texas A & M University - the Heroes. We were actually quite good. We held weekly band practice in a study room in the dormitory. Our band played Eagles, Stones, Beatles, America, etc. - "middle of the road Rock 'n Roll." I became President of the Musician's Club at TAMU and we held a huge Spring Concert with many bands. The concert started at noon on a Saturday in April, and ended around midnight - 12 hours of music in one day, at the Grove outdoor amphitheater at Texas A & M, 1982. Many bands, thousands of listeners. God, I loved the music! That was my thing. I wish we had a recording of the whole concert. It was a good show.
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I made good grades at Texas A & M in Aerospace Engineering, and eventually got into Stanford.
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I made good grades at Texas A & M in Aerospace Engineering, and eventually got into Stanford.
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Playing solo at an outdoor concert in Connecticut, 1982. 21 years old. The stage is an 18-wheeler truckbed. I was told there were about 3000 people in the farmer's field. It was a big crowd for me.
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Grad School - Stanford University
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Grad School - Stanford University
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Rocket Engine development
I worked at NASA during the Space Shuttle program - in the Flight Operations Division. The same group that my father previously worked in. Then I worked at Rocketdyne in California. This is the company that designed and built the Space Shuttle main rocket engines.
Then I started designing and building my own rocket engines. I took a welding class, so I could do the welds myself. This was the late 1980's - 12 years before Elon Musk started SpaceX, I was designing, building and test firing re-useable rocket engines.
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Rocket Engine development
I worked at NASA during the Space Shuttle program - in the Flight Operations Division. The same group that my father previously worked in. Then I worked at Rocketdyne in California. This is the company that designed and built the Space Shuttle main rocket engines.
Then I started designing and building my own rocket engines. I took a welding class, so I could do the welds myself. This was the late 1980's - 12 years before Elon Musk started SpaceX, I was designing, building and test firing re-useable rocket engines.
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