Cosmosphere : STS-126 Mission Update

STS-126 Update

My name is Steve Bowen and I am an astronaut scheduled to fly on STS-126 (ULF-2) to the International Space Station later this year.  Although you may learn a little about me by reading my NASA biography, there are some things that may be of interest that the biography doesn't say. 

 

The possibility of becoming an astronaut had always been a dream, but I never thought it would happen.  My dad made sure we were all watching our black and white TV on July 20, 1969.  Back then it didn't seem like you had to try and find science and space in the news.  The Apollo missions, Skylab, Mariner, Viking, Voyager etc., were all front page stories in the newspapers and on television.   It was these early exposures to the worlds of NASA that led to my interests in science and engineering. 

 

I grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts, a small coastal suburb south of Boston.  I was the fifth of six children in the family.  I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters.  Somehow, my parents managed to get us all through college. My dad was a tile-man (he laid tile on floors, walls, etc.) and my mom was the school system "attendance lady."  We didn't miss a lot of school.  I graduated from a public school, Cohasset High School, in 1982 and went to the United States Naval Academy.  I did my best in school and tried to keep many opportunities open.  Education was and is the path to a more fulfilling life.  Education and hard work allow for more choices, and more choices usually mean more interesting opportunities.  Sometimes opportunities are missed, options are closed off or choices are made for you, for whatever reason, but the more options - the more opportunities. 

 

Once I graduated from the Naval Academy in 1986, I joined the submarine force.  Twelve years later, the opportunity to apply to become an astronaut presented itself and so I applied.  I was lucky enough to have been selected and all those choices and opportunities along the way made that possible.   And now, I have been assigned as part of the crew of STS-126 (ULF-2).  The crew is an amalgam of experiences and backgrounds each contributing to the whole.   It's a great privilege and a lot of fun to work with my crewmates, the training teams, and the mission teams.  These are groups who are humbling to be around.

Read more about Steve Bowen, the STS-126 mission and the rest of the STS-126 crew

 

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