wanttaja
En-Route
"Something important to the nation?" Sure. Something that only he can do? Not hardly. There are hundreds of people who would love his job.
"Something only a micro percentage of people get to do? " Damn straight. And he's already done it three times (Space Shuttle flights). So he's not giving up the chance to fly into space, he's giving up the chance to fly into space FOR THE FOURTH TIME. He's spent forty days, all told, in space. That's more than most of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronauts.
"Something that the nation has paid millions of dollars in training?" Damn straight. And six years ago, he retired from service with the national agency that trained him. You should have complained then. Boeing didn't pay a dime toward him becoming an astronaut. He's going to be their Director of Crew Systems and Director of Mission Integration and Operations. Sounds like a perfect fit for the job. The man is going to be almost sixty years old by the time the Starliner launches...do we REALLY need to push him into orbit again?
"Being an Astronaut requires extreme commitment." Sure, and I think he showed that in his three flights.
If you get a chance, read Mike Mullane's "Riding Rockets". He flew into space three times, and the book is a very insightful, hilarious look at the life of an astronaut. One of the things that he's honest about is the abject FEAR while sitting in the rocket, waiting to launch. It is not a safe profession. I have no idea if such feelings motivated Captain Ferguson, but I think he's earned respect for his 27 years of service to the Navy and to NASA. He's done his bit for queen and country.....
Ron Wanttaja
