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.
Launch day was always exciting when I was about to board the Space Shuttle. There was a different kind of excitement when I was the “supporting spouse.” Hoot and I had a lot of experience doing both of these things. He flew before me in 1983, and I played the supporting role. Our firstborn son—and the world’s very first Astrotot—Paul was only 18 months old and a handful! He was learning to walk and wanted to toddle everywhere. In the early days of the Shuttle, families had to find their own way to Cape Canaveral for launches. This would be...
What was the world’s impression of the original Astronauts of the ’50s and ’60s? Heroes, experienced jet pilots, brave test pilots: all macho men. Would you believe, when I met him in 1978, one of these macho men was a kindly soul tapping into his creative side? In the mid-1970s, NASA decided to take a new group of Astronauts who would fly aboard its new vehicle, the Space Shuttle. Crews of up to seven would include pilots, scientists, and engineers. For the first time, women, minorities, and non-pilots could apply. NASA created a...
Many people my age remember when, in April of 1959, we met our country’s first “spacemen,” the Mercury 7 Astronauts. They would be the first Americans to fly in space: instant heroes! Few know that there were women pilots who also underwent the testing to become Astronauts in those early days. Dr. Randy Lovelace had helped design and carry out medical exams on the thirty-two male Project Mercury candidates, and he wondered if women could also fare well in space. He and U.S. Air Force General Donald Flickinger, who served on the NASA Life...
Remember when you were young and you asked to borrow your parents’ car for a date? What if you could borrow something faster? Say… a jet? When I became an astronaut, non-pilot Mission Specialists (MSs) had to learn to fly in the backseat of NASA’s T-38 jets. We had instruction in the communication and navigation systems followed by training in doing the actual flying. The T-38s were slick little planes. They could speed around at 700 miles per hour at 40,000 feet and travel 800 miles in one “hop,” or flight. MSs had to fly a certain...
“It ain’t rocket science” is often a term used to mean something isn’t as difficult as the building of rockets. For me, it meant the science that was done on rockets—like what I did on my Shuttle flights. Not long ago, I gave a talk to a group of research scientists who are performing ground-breaking studies in many engineering and science fields. I read summaries of their work…so complex I couldn’t understand it all. I began to think the science that I had done with NASA was simple by comparison. Then I decided that our “rocket science” was...
Before we became Astronauts, NASA wanted to make sure we didn’t have a shady past. The application paperwork was extensive. If we were invited for an interview, we had a background check. When I returned from my week-long job interview at the Johnson Space Center, a neighbor came to see me. “Did you do something wrong?” he asked. “Some guy with an FBI badge came around asking questions about you. He wanted to know whether you hung out with foreign nationals or were into drugs or were very secretive. I told him you were a surgery resident and...
Our universe is vast—but that doesn’t mean things don’t run into each other. Some say our moon was formed out of the debris from an Earth impact with a huge boulder named Theia. And later in Earth’s history, the dinosaurs and most life on our planet may have been destroyed by collision with an asteroid. On some dark nights, we can see meteors burning up as they enter our atmosphere. It’s no surprise then that our spacecraft sometimes get dinged up by things running into them, sometimes with dire consequences. We get help avoiding close...
To military aviators, completing flight training carries a great deal of importance. The end of the training culminates in a ceremony to certify they’ve earned their “wings.” Military wings have a symbol of their branch of the service with symbolic wings to the side. The United States Navy wings are gold, and the United States Air Force has silver ones. (Hence the Navy boot camp marching song: “I don’t know but I’ve been told Navy wings are made of gold. I don’t know but it’s been said Air Force wings are made of lead.”) For the recipients,...
Have you ever had the feeling that you were being watched? I grew up that way. When you live in a small town where your family has lived for generations, everyone knows your pedigree and knows who you are. Do something wrong and your momma, grandmamma, and great-grandmamma are sure to find out. It tends to keep you out of trouble. I was shy and quiet when I entered high school. Then, I was selected to be a cheerleader, and I was expected to be outgoing. As a result, I learned, and I changed. Going away to college let me “find myself,” –...
When Hurricane Harvey ripped through Houston, it brought back memories of my NASA days in that area. Thirty-four years ago this month, my husband, fellow Astronaut, Hoot Gibson, and I experienced a fearsome hurricane up close. The Johnson Space Center is located near the Texas Gulf Coast, half-way between Houston and Galveston. It has seen its share of storms. Our home for much of our astronaut careers was on a bayou…not far from Galveston Bay. In August 1983, a storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico and became Hurricane Alicia. It was...
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