Most of us watched the launch of the space shuttle Discovery in the cool comfort of our homes.
Not Scott Fossum of Mitchell.
He flew to Florida to observe the Independence Day liftoff firsthand. But he had a special motivation -- his cousin, Mike, was on board.
Watching takeoffs and landings of NASA's space flights is no ordinary pastime for the Fossum cousins, all nine of them. And it's become a passion since Mike, now 48, was accepted into the astronaut program.
This was Mike's first flight and on Monday, when Discovery returned safely from its 13-day mission, Scott noted with pride -- and some relief, too -- that the landing was "smooth as silk."
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So how did one of the Fossum boys become an astronaut?
Scott, an instructor at Mitchell Technical Institute, didn't say it in so many words but to borrow a familiar aeronautical phrase, "You've got to have the right stuff."
Cousin Mike was born in Sioux Falls, lived in Pierre for awhile, then moved to McAllen, Texas, where he grew up. He attended Texas A&M, and then went into the Air Force for close to 20 years.
"He had a dream of being an astronaut," Scott said. "But he fell just a little short. He was two away from the cut, and one away from the cut, but he just never made it into astronaut's school."
But the dream wouldn't die.
After the Air Force, Mike joined NASA as a design specialist on the escape module, which provides astronauts a way out if calamity strikes the main aircraft.
In working in that area, Mike became acquainted with some of the astronauts, and they began to discuss how he too could become an astronaut.
Some of them had been test pilots earlier, and that was the new route Mike took.
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For those who dream of becoming an astronaut, NASA offers this information:
"Any adult man or woman in excellent physical condition who meets the basic qualifications can be selected to enter astronaut training. For mission specialists and pilot astronauts, the minimum requirements include a bachelor's degree in engineering, science or mathematics from an accredited institution. Three years of related experience must follow the degree, and an advanced degree is desirable. Pilot astronauts must have at least 1,000 hours of experience in jet aircraft, and they need better vision than mission specialists."
And yes, the competition can be a dream killer. More than 4,000 apply for 20 openings every two years
Mike's strategy paid off, and in 1998 he was selected to become an astronaut.
"He grew up just as the United States was really making waves in the space race," Scott said. "And that was a dream. He saw them going into space and saw guys walking on the moon and thought he'd really like to do that. He stuck with his dream and found different avenues to get there when the first one didn't work."
By all accounts, this most recent mission was a certified success (which explain's Mike's broad smile on Page 16 of Tuesday's edition) with most objectives attained over the 13 days and 5.3 million miles. It was another step in the goal of completing the space station and repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. Mike took three space walks during the mission.
Not all of the excitement took place aboard the craft, however.
The night before the launch, Scott and other family members were able to meet with Mike and the other astronauts but they kept their distance, talking across a 15- to 20-foot span.
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"Families could stand on each side of a road and talk," Scott said. "That was a tradition they kept up. They have relaxed a lot of the rules and quarantine, but we were taken to a spot at the Kennedy Space Center and they were one side and we were on the other.
"The one thing I think was cool with Mike going up and seeing the launch, it wasn't quite as loud as I thought but the flame coming out of the thrusters was so clear and so bright. Pretty amazing. And having all my cousins there, too, made it more special."
Other missions are in Mike's future, but he has some unfinished business closer to home. Gov. Mike Rounds, who also was invited to the launch, was unable to attend but sent a state flag for Mike to take along on the trip.
At some point, Scott says, Mike will return to South Dakota and present it to the governor.
