In Rhea’s blogs, she shares the adventures of her journeys into space as well as the many other experiences in her lifetime! We know you will find each one a bit unique and enjoyable as well as a bit educational.
From small-town southern girl to space traveler, Rhea Seddon experienced a life that was on a trajectory of its own from an early age.
One of the first six women Astronauts accepted by NASA, Dr. Seddon, a surgeon by training, married Navy Captain Robert “Hoot” Gibson becoming the first Astronaut couple. Their three children became the world’s first Astrotots. A woman of many firsts, Rhea’s compelling story of achieving the American Dream carries a universal message to all that overcoming obstacles of any kind is possible if we persevere and carry the torch of our vision.
Her memoir, Go For Orbit, tells of one American woman’s personal journey that will inspire you to reach amazing heights of your own.
Have you ever heard words that changed your life? So often we bumble along with so much jabber in our ears that we don’t really hear the important things. But simple words of encouragement can change our lives. On Oct. 4, 1957, I heard words that made set me off on a life’s journey. I was almost 10 and my father took me out in the yard to see the world’s first satellite, Sputnik, fly overhead. When I asked if people would someday go into space, he told me they probably would. When I asked “Could I go into space someday?” Daddy said,...
Did you know that I donated my body to science…twice? I became an Astronaut because I was interested in understanding what happens to humans when they venture away from gravity. We experience gravity from the time we are conceived. When the opportunity came for me to fly aboard two unique Shuttle flights that would gather information on human adaptation to space, I volunteered to be a subject. Little did I know what that would entail. In 1978, I learned that scientists from all over the world could propose experiments to be performed on...
When my husband, Hoot Gibson, and I watched the launch of the SpaceX spaceship recently, we were as excited as the rest of the country that NASA was launching from American soil again. We also realized that, although we don’t personally know Bob Benkhen and Doug Hurley, we share something unusual with them. Can you guess what it is? Bob and Doug are married to other Astronauts, Megan McArthur and Karen Nyberg, respectively and each has a son. When we married almost 40 years ago it was the first time active duty Astronauts married and there...
Many around the world watched the Space X Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon module launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying Bob Benkyn and Doug Hurley into space. The crew module went on to unite with the International Space Station. The approach and docking were fully automated and worked flawlessly. I remember the days when the mating of huge objects in space was much more complicated – and fraught with peril. Exactly how can you join together two space vehicles whirling around the Earth at over 17,000 miles per hour? Or why would you...
When a gaggle of airplanes fly overhead, you can be certain that it means a special event. I’ve witnessed a bunch of these flyovers, some exhilarating, some sorrowful and some proud. I’ve spotlighted several of them in this story. When astronauts finished their training for a flight, they’d fly the NASA jets to Cape Canaveral and swoop around the launch pad where their Shuttle stood. It was a sign to all the workers who came out to watch that “We are here and ready to fly.” It was an incredibly exciting moment for all of us! When my...
January 1986 was the beginning of the worst year of my life. On Jan. 28 the Challenger exploded killing seven Astronauts, my friends. It was totally unexpected and unprecedented. Our entire space program was set adrift. What could we do? We had to begin with what had to be done. It was an incredibly sad and difficult time. First, there were grieving families to support. Then there were bodies to retrieve and to bury with honor. A cause for the accident had to be found to understand whether our Space Program would continue. We would...
In the “olden days” when Space Shuttle flights were just beginning, as Astronauts were named to flights there were several things that had to be done. An announcement was sent to the Public Affairs Office for release to the press. Next a crew picture was taken and a patch designed. The payload was assigned to the mission and the appropriate Space Shuttle chosen. On occasion that careful planning went haywire. When I was assigned to fly in August of 1983 the flight was designated STS-41E, the 16th shuttle flight, on Discovery, to launch in...
The days after the Challenger accident in 1986 were terrible. All of NASA and its contractors were put to work to find and fix the cause of the tragedy. When the corrective actions were taken and the country was ready, NASA prepared for its new missions. Little did anyone know that danger awaited one of the next flight crews. In an effort to keep Mission Control personnel and Astronaut crews well trained, two “practice” flights were designed – one military and one civilian. For the Astronaut Office, four crews were put together. They...
My husband, Hoot, and I had many exciting moments in our Astronaut careers. “Roll out” was always a thrilling time as we prepared for our flights. Many steps, many people, many machines made that day possible. Eventually, that special day would come when the enormous doors on the Vehicle Assembly Building, the VAB, at the Kennedy Space Center opened and our glorious Space Shuttle began its slow journey to the launch pad. The most awesome thing about roll out was the “Crawler”. In 1965, the Marion Power Shovel Company in Marion, Ohio...
According to a legend, old elephants go to a mythical place to die – an elephant boneyard. Do you know that there is another kind of “boneyard” on the desert sands in Arizona? One day when Hoot and I were flying from Houston to the west coast he said, “Look at what’s on the ground below.” As he dipped the left wing of our NASA jet, I looked down and was reminded of pictures I had seen of the English countryside just before the D-Day invasion. There were thousands of planes arranged beautifully wingtip-to-wingtip on the desert floor below. ...
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