Astronaut Finalist
In the summer of 1994, I came very close to becoming an astronaut. Out of over 6000 applications, 119 finalists were chosen, of which I was one. The image on the left is of my colleagues during the selection process, which took one week. I am the third from the right on the last row. To my immediate left is Willie McCool. In front of me, on my left is Rick Husband. McCool went to Woodland Junior High School at the same time as me, in Duluth, Minnesota, though I did not know him at the time. McCool was the pilot, and Husband was the commander of the fateful Columbia mission in 2003 which ended in tragedy.
Below is a picture of me, on the treadmill during the selection process.
