CHASING A DREAM; AVIONICS ENGINEER HAS SET HIS SIGHTS ON NASA'S ASTRONAUT PROGRAM.

Byline: Paul O'Donoghue Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS - At the age of 59, when most men merely smile at childhood fantasies, Thousand Oaks resident John Williams is still seriously pursuing his dream of becoming an astronaut.

Right about now, as he has done for the past 15 years, Williams will send his application to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, hoping he will be one of about 20 chosen - from among 3,000 expected to apply - for the astronaut training program.

``I've just hung in there with this because my belief is that you should always go after what you really want, as long as you think it's really good,'' said Williams, an avionics engineer with Lockheed Martin in El Segundo. ``If you have a goal up there it's better to climb, and doing this has really helped in other things, being persistent and staying with things when they get tough.''

The fact that he will be 60 next month doesn't deter Williams. One of his heroes is former astronaut John Glenn, who was 76 when he returned to space a few years ago.

While most of NASA's 137 current astronauts are between the ages of about 30 and the late 50s, there is no upper age limit, said Duane Ross, manager of NASA's astronaut selection program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

``We're looking for a variety of persons - mainly pilots and mission specialists and engineers - hands-on operators,'' Ross said.

``The other thing is persons that are nice to have around. We need people who are good team players and get on well with all types of people. So the people we would like would be from a diverse background, but would also do things on their own, such as volunteer work or community work, or climb mountains or scuba dive - all sorts of people from diverse backgrounds.

``The good news is, of the 3,015 applicants (last year), a lot fit into that category. The bad news is we can't take 'em all.''

The basic requirements include U.S. citizenship, graduate degrees in either science or math, being a qualified jet pilot with 1,000 hours of flying time, and three years of work experience in a chosen specialty, officials said.

Applicants are broken down into two categories - pilots and mission specialists, such as scientists and physicians.

``The people who get selected have quite a few more qualifications than the basic requirements,'' Ross said. ``It's very competitive.''

Ross, who doesn't personally know Williams, encouraged him to continue to apply.

``What I can say is (based on his qualifications) he is in the ballpark of folks we are interested in,'' Ross said.

Williams, who is married with two grown children, was born in Colorado and raised in Kansas and Oklahoma, and from an early age dreamed of flying as he watched airplanes take off from a field near his home.

``Ever since I was 3 I liked airplanes,'' he said. ``I'd cling to the chain-link fence and watch them take off and land.

``I'd get in trouble from drawing planes. I'd sit and draw and my English teacher would catch me drawing Spitfires and go 'slap' with a spelling book,'' he said with a laugh.

With a bachelor's degree in math and physics, Williams has worked for the past 35 years as an avionics engineer and in related jobs, including programs at NASA, where he worked on radar and communications systems for the space shuttle, Skylab and Apollo.

A pilot since 1978, he owns a single-propeller Cessna based at Camarillo Airport, which he flies every other week. He jogs daily, hikes, is an avid snow skier and says his physician tells him he's in peak condition.

Frank Cooper, a friend from church, Emmanuel Presbyterian in Thousand Oaks, said Williams has been driven in his pursuit.

``I think this is a dream of his and I think it's something that he puts his heart into, and I seriously doubt he'll let it go,'' Cooper said.

For Williams, a reality check came just before he mailed his second application in 1986, when the Challenger space shuttle exploded, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

``The day I sent it in, I'm heading down to the post office when the news of the Challenger came on and - I kid you not - I thought, Do I really want to go through with this, if that's the price you're going to pay?'' Williams said. ``But I decided this is what I want to do and I'm still going to go do it and apply.''

An inventor of several engineering gadgets he has patented, Williams said his particular ambition is to work on construction of the international space station that is currently being built jointly by the United States, Russia and other nations.

``I feel I'm a team builder and have worked on many team situations, and feel like I'd fit right in. I love to work with people.''

And even if he gets a rejection letter in a few months, Williams said he aims to continue applying, knowing his family and friends are all behind him.

``When you quit doing something, you never know how it could have turned out,'' he said. ``But when you keep on going, at least you know there's a chance, and who knows what will happen. And that keeps you trying.''

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Photo: Avionics engineer John Williams of Thousand Oaks has been applying for NASA's astronaut program for the past 15 years.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer