Macomb Daily - Ex-Astronaut Encourges Students to Find Their Passion Through Learning

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By Frank DeFrank

A Wyandot Middle School student asked retired U.S. astronaut Col. Charles Precourt to describe some of the sights he witnessed during his four space shuttle missions.

Precourt told the student and his classmates of watching a shooting star pass below him.

He spoke of the vast darkness of space, and how the sun appears as little more than a small dot in the distance.

And then he described his first view of Earth.

"Earth is glowing from the inside," Precourt said. "... Looking out the window at Earth for the first time is incredible."

Precourt and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters visited with Wyandot sixth-graders Friday to promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

And, Peters said, "Who better than an astronaut?" to drive home the point.

"Today's students are the highly skilled workforce of Michigan's future," said Peters, a Bloomfield Township Democrat elected in November to his first term in the U.S. Senate.

"We must ensure they are prepared to fill the high-tech jobs that will keep out country globally competitive. Advancements in science and engineering are essential to growing our economy and securing our economic competitiveness for decades to come."

A former U.S. Air Force pilot who flew 60 different types of aircraft, Precourt became an astronaut in July 1991. Among his many duties and assignments with NASA, he flew four missions aboard the space shuttles Columbia, Atlantis and Discovery, and traveled to both the International Space Station and the Russian Space Station Mir. He left NASA in 2005.

He engaged the students with recollections of his experiences, and described for them what space travel is like. A few highlights:

* Liftoff is like lying on a chair on your back and feeling a giant hand push you up from 0 to 17,000 miles per hour in about eight minutes;

* Seeing the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) from space is "really cool."

* Dehydrated food astronauts must eat is "not quite as good as your mom would make, but it's pretty good."

Precourt said he tries to urge students to find their passion through learning.

"I've always encouraged students to pursue the things that get them the most excited," he said.

Stefan Loznjakovic, one of the sixth-graders who heard Precourt's presentation, was excited to meet a former astronaut.

"It was really great to see a real live astronaut and a senator and to learn much more than I knew before," he said.

Earlier Friday, Precourt and Peters visited Futuramic Tool and Engineering Co., a Warren firm developing systems for future NASA missions.

Sen. Peters told the students NASA eventually will launch manned missions to Mars, and "we need good people like you to help us get there."

"This has always been who we are as a country," the senator said. "We explore."

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