Ross thanks those who fixed train cars carrying shuttle parts
(The Idaho State Journal posted the following story by Casey Santee on its website on July 3.)
POCATELLO, Idaho — Jerry Ross decided in the fourth grade he wanted to be an astronaut, and that’s exactly what he became.
“I grew up at a time before the first satellite was launched into space,” he said here Tuesday. “Even then, I would draw pictures of rockets, and was very interested in space exploration. After the satellites started going up, I knew that I wanted to be a part of the space program.”
Ross, who retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 2000, completed seven shuttle missions, including five aboard Atlantis, one on Columbia, and one on Endeavor. He also holds the record of most space walks, with nine, totaling more than 58 hours in space, which is also a record.
“My favorite thing about being an astronaut was the space walks,” he said.
Ross graduated from Purdue University in his home state of Indiana, with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1972. Following college, he joined the Air Force.
His career as an astronaut began in 1980, after six years as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where he designed and flew aircraft such as the B-1 bomber.
His favorite shuttle missions?
“My last two. We assembled parts of the international space station.”
Ross spoke Tuesday at the Red Lion in Pocatello primarily to thank employees of Union Pacific Railroad.
“These guys found and repaired some cracks in a couple of the rail cars that we use to transport the solid rocket boosters used for the shuttle,” he said.
Boosters were taken all the way to Florida aboard rail cars, and he said used segments are also returned for refueling aboard them.
“That’s a long way for the boosters to travel. A lot could have happened between Thiokol [in Utah], and Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Thanks to these guys, it didn’t.”
Ross currently serves as chief of the Vehicle Integration Test Office at Johnson Space Center in Houston.