Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin remembers the police stop that made him sweat

Former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin wasn't scared to serve on two Space Shuttle Atlantis missions to help build the International Space Station.

Melvin, who was never afraid launching into space on two Space Shuttle Atlantis missions to help build the International Space Station, never knew what was going to happen when the cops pulled him over.

"I've been on this rocket with millions of pounds of thrust and not once was I afraid of going to space," said Melvin, who is Black. "It's when I've been stopped by police officers that I didn't even know ... I was starting to sweat and just holding the steering wheel really hard."

"Every father in the Black community has a conversation with their son to tell them that if you get stopped by an officer, you know, you assume the position, which is 10-2 (hands on the wheel), look straight ahead," he added. "You tell the officer, you know, you're real respectful, you say you're reaching for your obvious things."

Melvin spoke Monday during a panel celebrating Black lives in the space industry during the 2020 Virtual Humans to Mars Summit hosted by Explore Mars, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the human exploration of Mars.

Panelists - who shared their personal experiences and discussed the Black Lives Matter movement, the death of George Floyd, and subsequent protests - included former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, NASA Deputy Manager of Commercial Lunar Payload Services Camille Alleyne and Danielle Wood, director of the Space Enabled Research Group in MIT's Media Lab.

Melvin can still remember one traffic stop when he was a student at Heritage High School in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he graduated in 1982.

"I was in a car with my girlfriend and a police officer rolled up on us," Melvin said. "He took her out of the car and told her that I was raping her because he wanted me to go to jail.

"And you know, when Black men get into the prison system, that they really never get out and have a second chance. I was going to college on scholarship and want to be a chemistry major."

Melvin urged people to make sure they're not part of the problem by contributing to racism, asking people to assess both what they're doing to hurt and how they can help fight racism.


The path to space

Luckily that stop didn't derail his career. Melvin ended up logging more than 565 hours in space, but space was not his first choice.

During the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, Melvin said he was the "antenna engineer," holding the antennas for his parents while they watched it.

"And the next day all the kids in the neighborhood said, 'Do you want to be an astronaut?' No, I don't see someone who looks like me," Melvin recalled.

Five blocks down the street from where Melvin grew up, Arthur Ashe learned how to play tennis. Ashe, the only Black man to win singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open, turned pro in 1969. Ashe was also the first Black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team.

"My dad talked about his perseverance his athleticism, his intelligence," Melvin said. "'I want you to be like him.' It wasn't until I got to NASA, when a friend said, 'You'd be a great astronaut.'"

Melvin didn't fill out an application until his friend, Charlie Camarda, got into the astronaut program. "If that guy can get in, I can get in, and that's when I applied."

Melvin was drafted in 1986 to play in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys but pulled his hamstrings and didn't end up playing any regular season games.

In 1989, he began working at NASA Langley Research Center in the Fiber Optic Sensors group of the Nondestructive Evaluation Sciences Branch, according to NASA. He was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1998.

In addition to serving as an astronaut, Melvin has also headed NASA's education program, co-chaired the White House's Federal Coordination in STEM Education Task Force and chaired the International Space Education Board.


Contrasting moments

Melvin learned about the death of George Floyd while in Florida for the launch of NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

"I see this Black man getting his life snuffed out, saying he can't breathe," Melvin said. "And when I heard him calling for his mother, that's when I started crying because I thought about my mother. I thought about if that was me, being the life snuffed out of me."

Floyd's death as now-former police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes was in sharp contrast with the achievement of launching American astronauts from US soil on US rockets for the first time since 2011.

"If we can (send people to the International Space Station), we can do anything. We can fix these problems."

And it leads back to the necessity of diversity, Melvin said.

Melvin said his "aha" moment in space came unexpectedly. He anticipated it would happen as he helped install the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory on the International Space Station in 2008.

But it wasn't until NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson invited Melvin over to the Russian segment of the station to share a meal. The crew included astronauts with Russian, French, German, African American and Asian American backgrounds and was hosted by Whitson - the first female commander of the space station, Melvin said.

"We were breaking bread at 17,500 miles per hour, going around the planet every 90 minutes. And that was when my head exploded, and I had this epiphany about our planet and looking back at it, getting this thing called the orbital perspective."

It's something astronauts gain as they gaze down at our planet as a whole.

"I think we as a civilization need to take that thing that we get in space as astronauts," he said. "And we know that if we don't work together as a team, and we were one of the most diverse teams in space, then we (would) perish."

Working together is the only way Melvin thinks humanity can survive on this planet, get back to the moon and get to Mars.

"The way we do it is with the right perspective. And we bring this perspective home from space, to go back to space as a civilization of diverse people," he said. "It's perspective together, that we work together, we live together, and we change the universe together."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
×