The author flew his Cessna from Massachusetts to Houston and back because he wants to be an astronaut. And somehow the trip made perfect sense.
I. Brakes—Hold. Fuel selector—Both tanks. Mixture—Full rich. Carburetor heat—Off. Circuit breakers—In. Primer—Three pumps. Throttle—Open quarter-inch. Battery master/alternator switch—On. Beacon—On. Propeller area—“Clear!” Ignition—Start.
As I finished the checklist and turned the key, Freddy’s engine roared to life and I smiled as I got ready to begin my takeoff. My destination, six flights over three days away, is Houston. I am flying to Houston because when I was five years old, my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Ackley, told the class that before we could go outside for recess each of us had to whisper in her ear what we wanted to be when we grew up.
“Astronaut,” I said, then ran out to the swings.
Junior year of high school: The concert band (I played the trumpet) took a trip to Washington, D.C. We got to tour some museums, and I chose the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where they were showing an Imax movie called Destiny In Space. I walked out a different person.
I remembered Mrs. Ackley that day.
A commercial flight would have gotten me to Houston faster, cheaper, and on time. But it seemed less in the spirit of the thing. A few months earlier, I had submitted my astronaut application to NASA along with 18,300 others. NASA will take only eight to fourteen of us. It was spring break at Berkshire School in western Massachusetts, where I work as a physics and astronomy teacher, so this might be my only chance to visit while my application is processing. If I’m going to visit NASA only once, I want it to be an adventure.
This story is from the July/August 2017 edition of Popular Mechanics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July/August 2017 edition of Popular Mechanics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Cascading Failures Behind One of the Worst Building Collapses in U.S. History
Engineers are still investigating the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside Florida, but early findings shed light on a risk facing poorly constructed residential and office buildings,
Cutting the Cord
THE HANDHELD CIRCULAR SAW IS PERHAPS THE MOST VERSAtile power tool for cutting wood.
How Three Amateurs Solved the Zodiac Killer's '340' Cipher
The mysterious code stumped the FBI and NSA for 53 years. What does the key, and the resulting solution, tell us about the infamous murderer?
POPULAR MECHANICS TOP AWARDS 2024
For more than 120 years, Popular Mechanics has been a heavy-duty brand. We see no reason to change that now.
How This Particle Could Break Our Understanding of Reality
EINSTEIN'S SPECIAL THEORY OF relativity teaches us that nothing can accelerate past the speed of light. But what if, when you were born, you were already moving faster than light? What would that look like?
The Right Way to Use a Fire Extinguisher
A FIRE EXTINGUISHER IS MORE THAN A of one 5-gallon bucket becomes the size of 64 burning buckets. Just 180 seconds after it begins, a fire can be transformed from a nuisance to a room-size, life-threatening inferno.
How the World's Largest Spherical Structure Was Built
THE SHINY, NEW LAS VEGAS SPHERE IS more than just a 17,600-seat amphitheaterstyle venue hosting a U2 residency. Since its opening in September 2023, it's become the world's largest spherical structure, at 516 feet wide and 366 feet tall.
The Army's Drone-Killing Laser Weapon
THE U.S. ARMY FIELDED ITS FIRST LASERweapon-equipped unit in October. Based at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the unit took possession of four laser-equipped Stryker infantry combat vehicles, each mounting a 50-kilowatt-class laser-weapon system. The combination of Stryker and laser can down both artillery, such as mortars and rockets, and drones in-flight.
Why It's So Hard to Mine the World's Largest Lithium Deposit
A Pass, or Peehee Mu'huh to the local Paiute people has been mined since the 1970s, so the new analysis merely confirms what locals have long known about the area.
WHAT THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL X-RAY LASER WILL DO FOR SCIENCE
DEEP UNDER MENLO PARK, California, there is a threemile-long machine operating in a tunnel that scientists are keeping colder than even some of the deepest reaches of space.
