Villagers’ astronaut son shares passion for space program, plans for the future

The Villages Daily Sun, Dlorida: Villagers’ astronaut son shares passion for space program, plans for the future

By DAISY MOON, DAILY SUN The Villages Daily Sun

THE VILLAGES — Characteristically humble, Andrew Feustel attributes his success as an astronaut to being “in the right place at the right time.”

Dig a little deeper into this space genius’ career and it’s easy to see that the past several years of his life have been about much more than luck.

He’s flown twice into space — first in 2009 as a crew member of space shuttle Atlantis during its STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, then again in 2011 as the lead space walker of the STS-134 Endeavour crew during a mission to the International Space Station.

In the months and years surrounding his visits into space, Feustel has been traveling the world, promoting space education to students as he shares insight into his out-of-this-world career.

All the while, his family, including wife Indira and their two sons, have stood by his side offering their emotional support. He’s also had two very important fans rooting him on throughout his space endeavors from right here in The Villages: his father, Steve, and stepmother, Beth.

The Village of Duval residents, who divide their time between Florida and Michigan, were at Kennedy Space Center to witness their son’s inaugural and, later, his final flight into space.

While their son performed his space walks, the pair kept tuned in to NASA television watching Andrew, whom they call Drew, sporting his massive white spacesuit as he made repairs and climbed, hopped and floated about his missions.

“We kind of knew what to expect the second time,” Beth said.

Steve noted that he and his wife remained positive, keeping faith that their son would return to Earth safely.

“I wasn’t really too nervous,” Steve said, reflecting on his son’s two missions. “I knew that the people that were supporting him and the crew were doing everything they could to make them safe.”

“They’ve always been very supportive,” Andrew said of his father and stepmother, sharing his appreciation of their working to “increase awareness in The Villages of the work we’ve done in space flight.”

Andrew has visited The Villages, he said, and plans to return sometime in the future.

Role model

To put it simply, Andrew Feustel is one busy man. Aside from his space travels, which include tedious preparation and often many hours of waiting simply hoping for a clear take-off, Feustel devotes his time to the younger generation.

During his final flight into space, he took aboard a stuffed character named Krtech, which has long been featured in a popular Czechoslovakian children’s television show.

“My wife’s mother is from the Czech Republic,” he shared in a phone interview from Houston, Texas. “We’ve always been interested in the culture there.”

Space flight is something that is very important in the country of his wife’s ancestors, he explained, thus prompting him to further promote the study of space by including Krtech in his final mission.

Through his space endeavors, Andrew aims to serve as a role model for people of every age, a fact his parents frequently pointed out during the times surrounding Andrew’s two space missions.

“I like to think that (astronauts) are role models for people who stay focused on tasks,” he said, noting that those in his field often have “high expectations of ourselves.”

“We want to advance science and technology for the betterment of our lives,” he explained.

The road to NASA

Before he was gaining recognition as an astronaut, Andrew was a student who merely dreamed of what was to come, never imagining the grand adventures that awaited him.

“From an early age, I was interested in space flight and exploration and tried to pursue a career in science and technology,” he said.

After graduating from Purdue University, Andrew earned his Ph.D. from Queens University in Ontario, Canada.

From there, he went on to work as a geophysicist in Houston.

It was while living in Houston that he decided to attempt the road toward becoming an astronaut.

“I saw the opportunity to apply to the space program,” he said. “I think it was about luck and being in the right place at the right time.

“It was a great opportunity,” Andrew added. “And I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to (work for NASA).”

His first couple of years with NASA were spent in basic training, he said. “In my case, learning about the space shuttle systems and space systems.”

In learning how to fly a shuttle, Andrew worked with robotics operations, he said.

He compared an astronaut’s basic-level training to the years spent earning an undergraduate degree in college. It’s during that time that all facets of what an astronaut does are covered, Andrew said.

Then, at last, his chance came to leave Earth for his first trip into outer space.

“It’s a pretty exciting event,” Andrew said of his initial voyage into space. “It’s a wild ride. The big adrenaline rush is when you know the countdown is proceeding down to zero.”

That’s when the realization hit him, he said, that “we were no longer going to be staying on the planet.”

What’s ahead

With the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis in July came what appears to be the conclusion of NASA’s manned shuttle program.

Steve noted the disappointment such news brings with it.

“The excitement is kind of minimized in that we don’t have a launch to look forward to,” he said.

However the proud dad pointed out that he’s certainly looking forward to the next phase of his son’s NASA career.

“It’s kind of neat to be able to participate and be aware of all the things that he’s been doing,” Steve said.

So what is next for Andrew Feustel? For one, he’ll be paying a visit to Italy to see the pope. Steve plans to look after his grandsons while Andrew and Indira are away.

This won’t be Andrew’s first encounter with Pope Benedict XVI. Steve said that during the STS-134 mission, the pope called the astronauts while they were in space.

And while he won’t be traveling to the International Space Station anytime soon, Andrew’s space exploits aren’t exactly coming to a halt.

“What’s happening here for us (at NASA) is sort of a function of all of the years of the budget challenge,” he explained, “and sort of a decision that we need to move past (the shuttle program) to lower-orbit space flight.”

Thus, NASA’s efforts will now be turned from a longtime consummation of the shuttle program to focusing on lower-orbit flight, he said, noting that “retiring the shuttle will open up new opportunities for all of the (space) industry, and space flight will continue to progress.”