Chris Cassidy
Photo Courtesy of NASA
YORK - When York High School graduate Chris Cassidy became a NASA astronaut, the excitement here in the town where he grew up was palpable.
Now, it looks like Cassidy will soon have his wish: A mission to space.
Cassidy, who graduated from York High School in 1988, was born in Salem, Mass., but has always considered York to be his hometown, and has stated that not only on return visits to the area but in his NASA biography.
NASA recently announced that Cassidy, a lieutenant commander in the Navy who holds his Master's degree in ocean engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "is currently assigned to the crew of STS-127, ISS Assembly Mission 2J/A, that will deliver the Japanese-built Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) and the Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section (ELM-ES) to the International Space Station in April 2009."
This news comes less than one year after Cassidy returned to York to serve as the keynote speaker for the commencement exercises at his alma mater, York High School.
Prior to Cassidy's arrival in town for the June 14, 2007, commencement exercises, Cassidy was hailed by York High School Principal Bob Stevens as "Maine's first and only astronaut."
Stevens said he remembered Cassidy fondly from his years as a student and athlete at York High School.
During the commencement exercises held 19 years after his own graduation, Cassidy told the Class of 2007 that he does not agree with a statement made famous during the Apollo 13 mission that "failure is not an option" and instead urged the graduates to "embrace the fact that you may fail and use that to motivate you to go forward." He also advised them to listen to others and to never quit.
Cassidy, who is married and has three children, was selected by NASA in May of 2004 and completed his astronaut candidate training less than two years later, in February of 2006. Prior to that, he was a Navy SEAL for 10 years.
To learn more about York's own astronaut, visit www.nasa.gov.
