York native, now an astronaut, to ride space shuttle

The crew of the Endeavor, scheduled for liftoff on Saturday, June 13, includes York High School graduate Christopher Cassidy, shown in the back row, second from left. Other members of the STS-127 crew include, in the front row, Comdr. Mark Polansky (right) and pilot Doug Hurley. In the back row, are, from left, astronauts Dave Wolf, Cassidy, Canadian Space Agency’s Julie Payette, Tom Marshburn and Tim Kopra, all mission specialists. Kopra is scheduled to join the International Space Station as a flight engineer after launching with the STS-127 crew.

As a child, Christopher Cassidy dreamed of becoming a baseball star, not an astronaut, said his mother Janice Cassidy of York.

But it doesn't surprise her that her 39-year-old son is scheduled to literally take off next Saturday, for his first mission in space.

"He's an amazing person," she said. "He's always been very determined. When he sets his mind to something, most often he is able to accomplish it."

Cassidy will be among the seven-member crew aboard the shuttle Endeavor, which will lift off Saturday, June 13, for the International Space Station. He and other STS-127 members will be on a 16-day mission to deliver hardware and a crew member to the space station. Mission specialist Cassidy will take three of five scheduled space walks.

Cassidy was too busy getting ready to do a pre-launch interview, but promised information upon his return.

Mom Jan Cassidy filled in the details of her son's mission. She plans to see the launch in person at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Chris Cassidy graduated from Astronaut Candidate Training in 2006, just in time to get aboard the space shuttle before it's retired in 2010.

The crew's mission is to deliver hardware components for the installation of the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility. Less technically, the module is called a "front porch," said Jan Cassidy, because its staging area will allow future crews to do experiments in space without suiting up and leaving the space station. A robotic arm will be attached to the pressurized module, according to the NASA Web site, www.nasa.gov.

The shuttle will also deliver crew member Tim Kopra, who will remain at the space station for several months. They're bringing back Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who has been there for months, working in zero gravity.

Cassidy goes into space 21 years after graduating from York High School, where his favorite classes were math and science, his mother said.

"Going through high school, he was not sure what he wanted to do," said Cassidy. "He gravitated toward the Naval Academy."

Cassidy graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1993. His focus then was on becoming a Navy SEAL (Sea, Air and Land Forces).

"During the course of (becoming a) SEAL, he happened to talk to (astronaut) Bill Shepherd," said Jan Cassidy. Shepherd is no known relation to astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

"Chris got excited and thought that would be a wonderful thing. When he told his father and I he wanted to apply to NASA, we thought OK, yep, yep ... ," said Cassidy. "He applied three times and twice was rejected."

NASA told him he needed additional education. Undaunted, Cassidy went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where, in 2000, he received a master's degree in ocean engineering.

Cassidy then completed astronaut training at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.

Technically, Cassidy remains in the Navy, stationed at NASA.

Cassidy, 39, his wife and three children live in Houston.

He gets what he wants, said his mother, "in a very quiet, understated way. He's not aggressive, he's laid back."

But did she think he'd become an astronaut?

"Not in a million years," she said. "I think every parent hopes for the best. You never know how it's going to turn out."

Cassidy has a younger brother Jeff, who works in Argentina, heading up the office of an Internet security company.

When Chris Cassidy was younger, said his mother, "he and his brother, they practiced writing their autographs as if they were famous. Now that's what he really does. He autographs pictures and things and sends them out."

Chris Cassidy spoke at the York High School graduation two years ago.

As the launch date gets closer, she said, he's getting, "very excited."

As is his mother.

Also, "nervous, yes," she said, "excited, proud."

Cassidy could be among the crew of the next generation of NASA spacecraft called the Crew Exploration Vehicle, which resembles the old Apollo-type capsule, said his mother.

"It will be used to go to the moon as well as to the International Space Station," she said.

Chris Cassidy, born a year after man first walked on the moon, has ambitions of following in those footsteps, said his mother.

"He's hoping towards the end of his astronaut career, he would like to go to the moon," she said. "He probably will."