Native American astronaut makes Earth-bound trip to Hopi High School

The Hopi High video newscast team stands with astronaut John Herrington. From left: Star Not-Afraid, Janissa Lahaleon, Tierra Lomabalaquihoya, Brenda Dacawyma, Nikyle Weston, Shanice Sakeva, Herrington, Jere Antone and Anthony Salazar. Photo/Stan Bindell

The Hopi High video newscast team stands with astronaut John Herrington. From left: Star Not-Afraid, Janissa Lahaleon, Tierra Lomabalaquihoya, Brenda Dacawyma, Nikyle Weston, Shanice Sakeva, Herrington, Jere Antone and Anthony Salazar. Photo/Stan Bindell

POLACCA, Ariz. - Imagine traveling into space. That's all most people can do. But John Herrington, the first Native American astronaut, is one of the few who has been on space missions. He spoke about that during an assembly May 5 at Hopi Jr./Sr. High School.

The Hopi Educational Endowment Fund sponsored the presentation.

Herrington, who has a doctorate, has been to the International Space Station 220 miles above Earth. He said only 215 humans have been outside of an aircraft in space.

"It was a unique opportunity and a chance to do something remarkable," he said. "Two hundred and twenty miles would be a few hours drive if you could drive straight up."

Herrington said going into space could make those aboard feel nauseous. He said some threw up and some didn't. He said it takes about two weeks to acclimate after returning to Earth. It took one to three years to train for each space mission.

His dream to become an astronaut began when he was eight-years-old when he would get into a cardboard box and make believe it was a spaceship. He is now retired, but he recalls that the highlight of his career was a space walk.

"Space walking is challenging. It's like grabbing a tennis ball for hours," he said. "Sometimes you worry about what could go wrong, but you don't dwell on it or you couldn't do your job."

After college-and becoming an astronaut demands a lot of college-Herrington was a test pilot for the Naval Academy. He has a Bachelor's in electrical engineering with a minor in math from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He has a Master's in aeronautical engineering from Naval Postgraduate School in Maryland and a Doctorate in educational research from the University of Idaho. His research was performed on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Idaho.

Herrington has 3,800 flight hours and has been on 30 types of aircraft. His advice to youth who want to become astronauts is to study math, science and technical journals because that's what it takes. He also went for his Master's degree because that made him competitive.

Herrington, who is a member of the Chickasaw Tribe, said he trained to become an astronaut by sitting in class a lot, studying space station systems and going into simulator jets. He also swam in a pool with his spacesuit on. He read about other astronauts, but he didn't emulate them.

"I knew my career path," he said. "But watching astronauts on TV inspired me."

His advice to students is to believe in what they are capable of doing and getting help from people who can make a difference in their life such as parents and teachers.

"But make decisions yourself," he said.

Herrington almost quit flight school, but his dad talked him into staying and he's glad he stuck it out.

Kursheena Yazzie, a junior at Hopi High School, said she liked the presentation because of the thought of a Native American in space is cool, especially because some Native American cultures believe that they shouldn't leave Earth. She said the video made it look like life on the spaceship was normal, except for the lack of gravity.

Yazzie, who is in the advanced radio broadcast class, said she would like to go into outer space because it would be doing something that most people consider impossible. She would like to become an astronaut except she doesn't like math, an important component for becoming an astronaut.

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