After a mission marked by delays, Chickasaw astronaut Cmdr. John Herrington, U.S.N., returned safely to earth at 2:37 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7. Scheduled initially to launch Nov. 11, shuttle mission STS-113 launched Nov. 23 after three delays.
Landing of the shuttle was delayed a record four days. Despite the delays and other minor problems, Cmdr. Herrington kept his sense of humor throughout the mission. "Yee-haw, Life is good," Cmdr. Herrington said as he stepped out for his first space walk.
When fellow astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria wanted to take a picture of Cmdr. Herrington during that first space walk, he teased, "why don't you do some work so your family won't think you're goofing off up here on vacation?"
Asked during an in flight interview how a Thanksgiving Day space walk might affect his celebration, Cmdr. Herrington quipped, "I'll be really hungry when I come back in."
With his childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut finally coming true, it was obvious Cmdr. Herrington was enjoying every moment. "I always looked at it as the playground of my dreams," Cmdr. Herrington said during a live Internet chat broadcast worldwide during his flight. "Something I always imagined doing one day, now I actually have the opportunity to be able to float and go from place to place like my own little airplane. It's a fabulous experience and I wish everyone had the opportunity to do it."
While the Chickasaw astronaut obviously enjoyed his first experience in space, he also accomplished some important work despite obstacles. In the course of three space walks, Cmdr. Herrington and Alegria completed all their assigned tasks which involved installing a 45-foot truss segment to the space station which will be used for heating and cooling.
During his third space walk, the rail car, or mobile transporter, stopped short of its planned position due to an obstruction. Cmdr. Herrington quickly found and removed the obstruction in time to complete all the original tasks as well as two additional ones.
Along with all the excitement work and play involved, it was very apparent Cmdr. Herrington had a deep appreciation of the significance of his journey as the first Chickasaw astronaut in space.
"I realize that there are so many people out there that it means so much to them in their hearts and it is a deeply moving experience," Cmdr. Herrington said when asked what his Chickasaw heritage means to him during an in flight interview. "It's hard to describe. From the bottom of my heart it means an incredible amount."
