Anderson knew the risks,
dreamed of going to Mars

From staff reports

AP File Photo/The Arizona Republic, Sarah Gorman Brenda Daniely, looks at a picture of her brother, astronaut Michael Anderson, Jan. 16 at the elementary school where she teaches, in Avondale, Ariz., on the day the space shuttle Columbia was launched. At a glance Barbara Anderson's son never told her, "Oh, there's nothing to worry about," for one simple reason. He knew that wasn't the truth. Besides, pilots don't talk like that. "There's always something unexpected that can happen,'' Anderson said before his first space mission in 1998. "But I think you prepare for that by realizing that the benefits are worth the risk."   Bios of the other astronauts   Previous stories about Cheney astronaut Michael Anderson.

For a kid who attended Cheney High School, the dream of being an astronaut and going to Mars might have seemed unreachable. But Michael Anderson became an astronaut, and traveled into space for the first time on the shuttle Endeavour in 1998.

He was in space once again for the past 16 days, aboard the shuttle Columbia. The shuttle exploded Saturday on re-entry, killing all seven crew members.

Anderson, 43, logged more than 211 hours in space on his first trip. This time, the crew was working on more than 80 scientific experiments dealing with such areas as global climate, human physiology and fire suppression.

A 1977 graduate of Cheney High School, Anderson was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, and served as a mission specialist in charge of the shuttle's payload. As payload commander, he oversaw the science experiments.

In a classroom presentation he made in Spokane in February 1998, Anderson showed his sense of wonder -- and his sense of humor -- when he admitted that even adults goof off a little in space. "Every first-time flier can't ressit playing with their food a little," he said.

On his first day in space, Anderson squeezed his strawberry drink into a perfect spherical drop that floated around the cabin. The crew also released handfuls of M&Ms, then scooped up the floating orbs with their mouths like fish.

Anderson told students that the shuttle cruised at 17,000 mph. It weighed 4.5 million poounds and took 7 million pounds of thrust to get it into space. "That feels like three Michael Andersons pushing on my chest," he said.

Anderson, who received a degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Washington, wanted to inspire kids about math and science, his two favorite subjects.

"He was one of the quiet ones," said Lawson Van Kuren, a teacher at Cheney High who was interviewed by The Spokesman-Review in 1998.

One of the quiet ones who recognized early on the link between scholastic achievement and opportunity. "I was part of a group of kids that just seemed fired up about the academic side of high school," he said in a 1998 interview.

He was stationed at an Air Force base in New York in 1994 and had been reassigned to Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane. His parents were thrilled that he'd be coming home. But he soon called with more news -- he'd been accepted by NASA and would be moving to Houston, instead.

"He was always somewhat different from most kids," his mother Barbara said in a 1998 interview. "I mean, when everybody else was off playing or doing whatever, he was inside doing experiments with his chemistry set of studying some sort of electronics."

Barbara and husband Bobbie were in Florida for Anderson's first flight back in 1998.

"I just hope it's not more than I'm ready for," Barbara Anderson said back in 1998.

Her son had never told her, "Oh, there's nothing to worry about," for one simple reason. He knew that wasn't the truth. Besides, pilots don't talk like that.

"There's always something unexpected that can happen,” Anderson said before his first space mission in 1998. "But I think you prepare for that by realizing that the benefits are worth the risk."

He's doing what he wants, his mother said at the time.

And this isn't the end," she added. "He's looking to go to Mars."

Back to Top