NASA astronaut reflects on career in Air Force and space Published June 3, 2009 By Janae' Daniels AEDC/PA Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. -- Arnold Engineering Development Center has had the privilege not only once, but twice this year to host a NASA astronaut with retired Col. Rick Searfoss speaking recently at the center's annual Safety and Health Week. Safety and Health Group Director Catherine Plunkett enjoyed Searfoss' speech and thought it reflected a powerful Beyond Zero message. "I found the message in his presentation to be exactly what Beyond Zero is all about," Plunkett said. "He was a very engaging and fascinating person who has a wealth of personal experiences to share." Tammie Huggins, safety consultant, said Searfoss' speech echoed the safe quality work done at AEDC. "The topic was very rewarding when incorporating 'Without You There Is No Beyond Zero Culture of Caring,'" Huggins said. "Many in our work force fail to recognize all the caring put into the work they do; their job does far more than earn a paycheck. Look at what this astronaut was able to do because someone cared. "Each time a floor is cleaned properly by our janitorial service, each time a wrench is used correctly and stored properly by our work force, each time a control panel is designed correctly and handled properly each individual has incorporated 'a culture of caring' for someone else. Someone else could be the next person working on the same job just a different shift or your caring and doing your job correctly possibly helped this astronaut return safely from his missions to family and friends." Searfoss was like many young boys growing up - wanting to be like their dad - so when he was selected to become an astronaut in 1990 he was fulfilling that dream. His dad wasn't an astronaut but an Air Force pilot and that's exactly how Searfoss started his career. "It was realistic to think I could become an Air Force pilot," Searfoss explained. "But, it was just a dream to believe I could become an astronaut. The Apollo project was winding down and I knew the shuttle program was beginning and I just wanted to be a part of it." AEDC's Jere Matty has known Searfoss since they were cadets at the Air Force Academy. They were both majoring in aerospace engineering as well as sailplane instructors. "I'm not surprised at his success as an astronaut as he graduated number one in our class and is a great guy all around," Matty said. Searfoss considers a place like AEDC a national treasure, which has helped the space program progress over the years. "I love getting out and seeing the different facilities and the part they play in the everyday workings of the space program," he explained. Continuing the space program, Searfoss believes, is an important issue for the United States to consider. "There will be more and more need for us to be in space," he said. "Space, in general, will continue to grow. Sending humans to space will be a long-time discussion and will depend on national priorities, but it's not far off in the private sector and if the pioneers develop the technology you will see more humans in space." In the same respect, Searfoss understands that national survival is at stake in the United States' current situation, so space may be put on the back burner. "I do think it's crucially important to keep the space program going from our overall standing in the world," he commented. "We should maintain that leadership by setting the example and paving the way. Like it or not, this is a position America has been in since the end of World War II. I don't want to see us give up." According to Searfoss, the space shuttle is beginning to phase out and he feels its time. "The space shuttle is a great system, but it was not a system that evolved in the way the founders thought it would or the initial way it was sold to Congress," he said. "It did, however, evolve into a capable research platform and a platform to build the International Space Station. "It's time to move on. The shuttle is getting older and a lot of resources are going into them to keep them maintained," he explained. "I just hope that as we move on, we have a robust program and put the amount of resources in it to really get something out of it." Searfoss served as STS-58 pilot on the seven-person life science research mission aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1993. The crew performed neurovestibular, cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, metabolic and musculoskeletal medical experiments on themselves and 48 rats. According to Searfoss, this helped expand the knowledge of human and animal physiology both on earth and in space flight. Searfoss personally knew and worked with several on the Columbia crew who perished in 2003. "On the people side it was hard because I knew all six of the crew members. Rick Husband and I were stationed at Edwards Air Force Base together and we actually interviewed for the program at the same time in 1989. I got selected that year and he did three or four years later," he recollected. "But, also there is an element of loss that I felt over losing the vehicle. I did two of my flights on Columbia. "I remember telling my kids, 'When you have kids we'll all be able to go together to the National Air and Space Museum and see Columbia.' I wanted to be able to say 'There's Grandpa's space ship.' So there's a sense of loss there since I spent a lot of time up there in that vehicle." Three years later in 1996, Searfoss piloted the mission STS-76 aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. On this nine-day mission the crew performed the third docking of an American spacecraft with the Russian space station Mir. In a joint effort, the crew transported the Mir nearly two tons of water, food, supplies and scientific equipment, as well as U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid who was beginning her six-month stay in space. He commanded his last mission in 1998 on the STS-90 Neurolab mission. This time Searfoss was on a 16-day flight serving as both an experiment subjects and operator for 26 individual life science experiments focusing on the effects of microgravity on the brain and nervous system. According to Searfoss, this was one of the last and most complex of the 25 Spacelab missions NASA had flown. Searfoss received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U. S. Air Force Academy in 1978. He graduated from undergraduate pilot training at Williams AFB, Ariz., in 1980 and flew the F-111F operating at the Royal Air Force in Lakenheath England. He was an F-111A instructor pilot and weapons instructor at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. He attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Md., as an Air Force exchange officer and a flight instructor at Edwards AFB, Calif., when he was selected for the astronaut program. Searfoss has logged more than 5,900 hours flying time in 71 different types of aircraft and more than 939 hours in space. After retiring from NASA and the Air Force in 1998, Searfoss explored opportunities in the private industry.