A little closer to the stars

Wendy Lawrence graduated from the Naval Academy in 1981 with a Master of Science degree in Ocean Engineering, on only the second course to include females. She would subsequently earn the naval aviator’s prized ‘Wings of Gold’ in 1982. Flight school had seen her fly the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor, the TH-57 Sea Ranger and the UH-1 Huey, before seeing service as a naval helicopter pilot on a number of shipboard deployments. Flying the H-46 Sea Knight and the SH-2 Seasprite on operations, Lawrence was also one of the first two female helicopter pilots to make a long deployment to the Indian Ocean as part of a carrier battle group. Her naval flying career would see her fly more than 1,500 hours and make more than 800 shipboard landings, achieving the rank of captain.

Continuing her studies, Lawrence earned a Master of Science Degree in Ocean Engineering from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Still determined to join the astronaut program, she was selected by NASA for astronaut training in 1992 and it was a day that she clearly recalls.

“The phone call from NASA was very exciting and almost unbelievable,” she told Australian Aviation via email.

“But it was also a little frustrating because I was told that I couldn’t share the news with anyone for 24 hours because the US Congress had to approve the selection of the new class of astronaut candidates. Trust me, that was a very long 24-hour period!”

She would go on to spend more than 51 days in space over the course of her four Space Shuttle missions aboard STS-67, STS-86, STS-91 and STS-114. Lawrence also trained as a crewmember for a Mir mission. Beyond spaceflight, Lawrence held various jobs within NASA and the Astronaut Office to include flight software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Lab (SAIL), Director of Operations Russia in Star City, Russia at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre (GCTC) and Astronaut Office representative for ISS crew training and support.

The first female Naval Academy graduate to become an astronaut, her career beyond NASA has seen Lawrence dedicated to inspiring the next generation to ‘dare to Dream’, just as she did in 1969.

From sea level to space

Lawrence reflects that viewing Earth from the Space Shuttle for the first time, “drove home the fact that my dream of flying in space had finally come true.”

It had been a long journey, born in childhood and pursued through years of dedication and study.

On asked whether serving with the Navy was part of a predetermined plan towards the ultimate goal of becoming an astronaut, and whether there were any specific courses within the Navy she pursued, Lawrence is wonderfully straightforward.

“I certainly knew that becoming a naval aviator was a very important step to take in pursuit of my dream to be an astronaut. Plus, I knew that the vast amount of operational experience I would gain as a Navy pilot would be very valuable as well. At that point in time, I didn’t necessarily pursue additional qualifications because I thought they would help me get selected as an astronaut. Instead, my priority was gaining the qualifications I needed to be a more capable pilot and officer in my helicopter squadrons.”

Lawrence believes that her time as a naval aviator had served her well for training as an astronaut and that there are parallels in the two fields.

“My military training prepared me very well for the process of training to become an astronaut as NASA takes a similar approach. During my astronaut candidate training flow, we first studied each Space Shuttle system one at a time, followed by sessions in the procedural trainer. Once we learned all of the major systems, we progressed to the full-up simulator to practice the procedures used to operate the space shuttle systems.”

Comparing her experience in the two training realms of naval aviator and astronaut, Lawrence considers that, “Looking back at it, I think Navy flight training was more challenging, mainly because it was the first time I had been in that type of learning environment. By the time I started astronaut candidate training, I had gone through the qualification training programs for five different types of aircraft. That experience made astronaut training a very familiar environment for me.”

Lawrence also believes that the qualities that make a good pilot also make a good astronaut. A methodical approach, situational awareness and self-discipline are among them and she adds, “Being able to communicate and work well with your fellow crewmates,” as another important skill.

As a helicopter pilot without jet experience, Lawrence wasn’t eligible to apply to become an astronaut pilot and was not categorised as a full-fledged shuttle pilot. However, as she explains, “Virtually all mission specialists learned how to input manoeuvres into the orbiter guidance, navigation and control (GNC) system during our training flows.”

Lawrence’s first spaceflight was in 1995 as part of STS-67 aboard Endeavour. Her third mission came in 1998 as STS-91 on board Discovery. This mission was the second flight of the ASTRO observatory, a unique complement of three telescopes used to conduct astronomical observations in the ultraviolet spectral regions. And just as long-haul airliners have augmented crews to provide adequate rest for the pilots, Lawrence was assigned to serve as an orbit pilot, as she explains, “We flew three telescopes in the orbiter payload bay, which were operated around the clock. To do this, we split the crew into two work shifts. The mission commander and pilot were on the Red shift. As the mission flight engineer, the mission commander designated me as the orbit pilot for the Blue shift. That meant I was responsible for orbiter systems operations and execution of the manoeuvre timeline while the commander and pilot slept.”

When asked how flying the shuttle compares to a helicopter from a pilot’s perspective, Lawrence replies, “Let’s just say that for this helicopter pilot, things happened much more quickly onboard the Shuttle, given the speed at which it travelled!”

Looking back

Of all the incredible sights and sensations that must be associated with spaceflight, Lawrence recalls two in particular.

“Looking out the window and being weightless immediately come to mind! And ‘riding the rocket’ for the first time was awesome as well. Nothing on Earth comes close to simulating the 6.5 million pounds of thrust that was produced by the space shuttle during launch!”

While most of us can only imagine such feelings or look whimsically at one-dimensional images shot through a lens in orbit, there is a new dawn of space travel on the horizon.

NASA recently named nine US astronauts who will launch aboard new American-made spacecraft and rocket systems, in the first human launches from the United States since 2011. These astronauts, eight from NASA and one from Boeing, were assigned to conduct the first test flights and operational missions for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon in partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

‘I was responsible for orbiter systems operations and execution of the manoeuvre timeline.’

Lawrence also sees a growing future for spaceflight.

“I believe we will continue to see more public/private partnerships like the ones that NASA already has in place with SpaceX, Boeing and Orbital ATK. Eventually, we will make the journey to Mars, but that effort will require a sustained flow of money and uninterrupted attention. When we do go to Mars, I think we will pair humans and robots (perhaps in the form of unmanned craft) together.”

Neil Armstrong may not be descending onto the lunar surface for the world to witness through a grainy black and white transmission, but there are no shortage of inspiring images and role models for the 10-year-olds of today. Astronaut Wendy Lawrence is one of these, actively inspiring and encouraging the next generation through her personal appearances, speaking engagements and interviews.

To the astronauts and aviators of tomorrow, she says, “Go for it! It was definitely hard work to become both a naval aviator and NASA astronaut, but absolutely worth it as well. I have no regrets whatsoever!”

We’ve all gazed at the heavens by night and this author had one more question to ask Astronaut Lawrence. Her answer stirred admiration tinged with a hint of envy in this aviator when she replied, “Yes, I do look at the night sky differently now knowing that I had the opportunity to fly just a little closer to the stars.”

For more info please visit www.AstronautWendyLawrence.com, Follow @AstroWendyL, #WeBelieveInAstronauts