AIR FORCE VETERAN SOARS AFTER ASTRONAUT SELECTION.Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - As a seventh-grader, James Dutton James Patrick Dutton Jr (20 November 1968, Eugene, Oregon) is a NASA astronaut pilot of the Class of 2004 (NASA Group 19), and a test pilot in the US Air Force with the rank of Major. wrote NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. a letter asking how he could become an astronaut. Now, 23 years older and an Air Force major stationed at Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. , Dutton still keeps the brochure the National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), civilian agency of the U.S. federal government with the mission of conducting research and developing operational programs in the areas of space exploration, artificial satellites (see satellite, artificial), sent him in reply. The 35-year-old F/A-22 test pilot thought about that leaflet Thursday as the space agency named him to the nation's newest astronaut class. ``I believe in keeping your dreams in front of you,'' Dutton said. The 11-member class, chosen from a pool of more than 2,000 applicants, is NASA's newest crop of astronauts and the first in four years. The group will be the first focused on President George W. Bush's space exploration vision of sending astronauts back to the moon and to Mars. The future of that vision is still uncertain. Members of a presidential moon-Mars commission have questioned whether spending vast resources on space travel is justified, and members of Congress have expressed concern that NASA has not been forthcoming about details of the exploration strategy even as it seeks $16.2 million in its 2005 budget. But on Thursday, in front of hundreds of schoolchildren schoolchildren school npl → écoliers mpl; (at secondary school) → collégiens mpl; lycéens mpl schoolchildren school assembled for the international Space Day at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's annex in Chantilly, Va., the focus was on the glory and adventure of going boldly where no man has gone before This article is about the quotation. For the Original Series episode, see Where No Man Has Gone Before. For the Next Generation episode, see Where No One Has Gone Before. "Where no man has gone before . ``Our next generation of explorers will help blaze a galactic trail through the solar system,'' said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. Pioneering astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the globe, also addressed the crowd, saying, ``I hope all of you here today will always dream ... about what's beyond the boundaries of the Earth.'' NASA officials said the new crop of astronauts might help develop the Crew Exploration Vehicle
The Crew Exploration Vehicle (or CEV) was the conceptual component of the Vision for Space Exploration that later became known as the Orion spacecraft. , study the effects of microgravity mi·cro·grav·i·ty n. 1. An environment in which there is very little net gravitational force, as of a free-falling object, an orbit, or interstellar space. 2. on the human body and possibly help plan the lunar missions of the new era. They will begin training in August at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Dutton said NASA interviews already were under way when he learned Bush had unveiled the ambitious plan to return Americans to the moon by 2020 and plan future manned trips to Mars and beyond Mars and Beyond is an episode of Disneyland which aired on December 4, 1957. It was directed by Ward Kimball and narrated by Paul Frees. This episode discusses the possibility of life on other planets, especially Mars. . ``There just couldn't be a better time to come onboard with NASA,'' he said. ``It's great for the country, it's great for the world to have a vision of the universe.'' Born in Eugene, Ore., Dutton was 8 months old when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon July 20, 1969. But, Dutton said, growing up he often watched Apollo landing documentaries with his father and spent his childhood fascinated with stars and space. ``I always seemed to have a desire to fly,'' he said. ``Space to me is just amazing, when you look at the size of it, the immensity im·men·si·ty n. pl. im·men·si·ties 1. The quality or state of being immense. 2. Something immense: "the empty immensity of earth, sky, and water" of it.'' So far, Dutton's missions have kept him within Earth's orbit. After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1991, Dutton received a master's degree in aeronautics from the University of Washington. He flew F-15s in England in an operational combat squadron and flew three missions in the no-fly zones imposed in Iraq after the Gulf War. Dutton later moved to Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base (IATA: LSV, ICAO: KLSV) is a United States Air Force base, in Clark County, Nevada, on the northeast side of Las Vegas. It is also treated as a census-designated place by the United States Census for statistical purposes, and so specific near Las Vegas, where he tested F-15s, and transferred to Edwards Air Force Base a little more than four years ago. Currently Dutton works on the F/A-22 fighter, a fact that drew an envious comment Thursday from the astronaut making the introductions. Dutton lives at Edwards with his wife, Erin, and three sons ranging in age from 9 months to 6 years. In addition to Dutton, the class includes three teachers, an orthopedic surgeon and an engineer who grew up as a migrant farm worker in California's Central Valley. Lisa Friedman, (202) 662-8731 lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color in AV edition only) JAMES DUTTON New astronaut |
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