Earthbound and down: Feustel’s feet firmly on ground

By Matt Phillips
Special to the Review
Lake Orion’s Drew Feustel is now safely back after weather delayed his shuttle’s landing.
‘At last,? were the first words spoken by Space Shuttle Commander Scott Altman during the crew’s press conference from the tarmac of Edwards Air Force base in California about four hours after the Space Shuttle Atlantis landed safely at their alternate site.
Their mission was a success, but their was an extended stay in space.
Altman continued, ‘When we got to Florida (for the lift-off) I turned and said to everyone, ‘At last,? (since it took so long to get to that point). I didn’t realize it was going to be so hard to get back to the Earth, landing here just felt great to everybody.?
The planned 11-day mission ended up lasting 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes and 9 seconds due to poor weather conditions in Cape Canaveral, which forced NASA officials to wave off the probable landings in Florida on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, ultimately resulting in the decision to use the backup landing site in California.
This was the 53rd time a shuttle has had to use Edwards Air Force Base as a landing site, while 70 landings have occurred at the preferred site at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There was one other landing at the other alternate U.S. landing site in White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico.
During a press conference held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Ed Weiler said, ‘Now and only now can we declare this mission a total success. The astronauts are safely on the ground.?
Weiler called NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope ‘the great comeback story.? He added, ‘The public continues to be captivated by the telescope’s images of the universe and he hopes to see Hubble operate into its third decade of service.?
During the mission, the seven-person crew of ‘space surgeons? worked in near complete harmony with their ‘patient,? the Hubble Telescope, and their ground support crew to complete all scheduled repairs during the five EVA’s (extra vehicular activities, or spacewalks).
1983 Lake Orion High School graduate Feustel took part in three of those EVAs.
The challenges of the planning and practice gave way to the exuberance of accomplishment as the hatch door closed after the last EVA on Monday, May 18.
The crew breathed a sigh of relief knowing all their goals had been reached.
If you were ‘obsessed? with the live NASA coverage like many Lake Orionites, the two things you had to be impressed by was the attention to detail every member of the NASA team exhibited and the incredibly positive nature of the collective teamwork extended by the entire NASA family.
This was a mission for the history books, and, as a community, we could not be more proud that a man who once called Lake Orion home touched the edges of the universe, repaired an intricate scientific instrument and returned to earth safely.
Is it any wonder Feustel, a self-proclaimed ‘gear head,? has changed the future of science through his mechanical abilities while traveling at 17,500 miles per hour, 350 miles above earth in a weightless environment?
We were cheering and were not surprised by what Feustel and the STS-125 team was able to accomplish.
So, after 5.3 million miles traveled through space, Lake Orion will be even more excited when Feustel travels the 1,368 miles from Houston, Texas to Lake Orion this October to share more stories about his journey through space.
Matt Phillips has been covering the launch for The Review. Please be sure to check back in the coming weeks for an interview with Dr. Drew Feustel and a recap of Space Shuttle Mission STS-125.