By:Liz McBreen
Upon learning the date of his trip into space, Massimino contacted Principal Douglas Monahan and asked if he could return to his former high school after his space odyssey to address the students and tell them about his trip. Monahan said he would be thrilled to welcome the 1980 graduate back to the halls of Carey.
As is standard practice in NASA missions, before the astronauts departed, they are asked to choose a few items that have special meaning to them that they will take into space. When Massimino spoke to Monahan, he asked if he could bring something from the high school with him. Monahan provided the astronaut with a Carey banner.
During the video presentation, Massimino showed what happened during the moments leading up to the launch of the space shuttle Columbia.
"We're smiling here as we walk towards the shuttle, but that was because of all the cameras. We were actually pretty nervous," recalled Massimino. The video shows the astronauts being strapped into the launch positions, and the actual launch from both inside and outside the shuttle.
Once the crew was in space, their work began. The difficulty of the mission and need for precision was apparent from the footage taken by the helmet cameras as the crew worked. The video showed some of Massimino's spacewalks, during which he replaced solar panels and installed the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The earth is visible in the background of several shots as the astronauts work.
In addition to the difficult tasks that this crucial mission entailed, the crew had to deal with a temporary cooling system problem that occurred on the shuttle. The problem initially threatened the length of the journey, but the crew and the team on the ground were able to deal with it, and the mission went as planned. The video shows the crew cleaning up the condensation caused by the glitch, as well as the shuttle re-entering the earth's atmosphere once their work was completed. By the end of the trip, the shuttle had orbited the earth 165 times, and the crew had witnessed a sunrise and sunset from space every 90 minutes.
When Massimino left Franklin Square after attending John Street School and H. Frank Carey High School, he received his Bachelor's degree in Science from Columbia University. He went on to work for IBM as a systems engineer for two years before enrolling in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at MIT, Massimino's work with human operator control of space robotics systems was awarded with two patents.
Massimino has also taught engineering at both Rice University in Texas and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
He was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1996, and found out he would be on the Columbia mission in 2000. At this point, he began an extensive training period to prepare for his March 2002 launch.
Dennis McDonald of the Carey Dads Club presented a plaque identical to the one he gave to Massimino the day before at the astronaut's welcoming parade. It congratulates Massimino on his journey into space and has a picture of the space shuttle he traveled on. The second plaque will hang in the halls of Carey to commemorate the historical trip. "With confidence, you can live your dream as Dr. Mike did," said McDonald. Monahan also presented Massimino with a Sewanhaka jacket.
Massimino explained to the high school students that he was nervous before the launch, but "I had my team with me in the shuttle and on the ground in Houston, and like everything else, it's a team game."
As Massimino spoke about his experiences in space, he explained how he still constantly thinks about the view of the earth from space. He showed a picture of the Middle East area as seen from the shuttle. "It looks so peaceful from up there in spite of all the turmoil going on," commented Massimino.
When asked why he was chosen for the mission, Massimino explained that NASA looks to put a wide range of skills and personalities on each flight. "Because this was a difficult mission, they did not want too many rookies." All of the astronauts on the Columbia crew had been in space at least once except for Massimino.
After having answered questions from the students, Massimino returned the Carey Seahawks banner, that has traveled over 4 million miles with him, and a collage of pictures from the mission that was put together by NASA.
Massimino stressed once again for the students to pursue their dreams, and encouraged them in their studies at Carey and beyond.
