Chickasaw astronaut shares vision of space

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2003

SPACE TRAVELER: Commander John Bennett Herrington at the National Congress of American Indians in Washington, D.C. February 25, 2003. Photo © NSM.

The first tribal member to go into space on Tuesday said he would be "first in line" for a return trip despite the recent Columbia tragedy.

John Herrington, of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, spent 14 days aboard last winter's Endeavour mission, serving as a mission specialist. He acknowledged the risks associated with space travel but said the benefits outweigh the dangers.

"The minute we quit expanding our outlook and exploring," he said, "we're going to cease as a nation and we're going to cease in our inspiration to move forward."

Herrington was a guest of honor of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) whose President Tex Hall called him a "role model not just for Indian Country but for all of America." Recognized for helping elevate the status of American Indians and Alaska Natives, he was so popular at last night's banquet that he agreed to a lengthy question and answer session with attendees.

Although his journey, which included a visit to the International Space Station, ended more than two months ago, Herrington was still enthusiastic. He said being in space made him feel "insignificant."

"There are just a lot of experiences that they don't tell you about," he said, recalling the feeling of weightlessness, his first spacewalk and the awe of looking down at Earth from above.

"The view is beautiful," he said. "It's gorgeous."

When the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry on February 1, he said his worried daughter asked, "Daddy, you're not flying again, right?" Herrington's answer, after some discussion, was an unequivocal yes.

"The minute we chose to not [continue] because the risks are too great then I think we've shot ourselves in the foot," he said. "It would be a very bad thing."

Herrington cited a host of modern conveniences that are the result of NASA's space program. Smoke detectors, cellular phones, pagers and pacemaker batteries are a few, he said.

NASA is currently occupied with the investigation into the Columbia accident. Herrington hoped it would lead to improvements in the space program.

"You can build a spaceship and there's people in this world who would hop on it right now and go to Mars. I would," he said. "If we have the capability to do that, let's go do it and make it happen. That's the future of our kids and their kids and their kids."

Relevant Links:
John Herrington Bio - http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/herringt.html
Space Shuttle Endeavour - http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-113