posted 05-12-2025 08:33 AM            

Shuttle pilot Susan Kilrain (the youngest of three female shuttle pilots) found her way to the latest "Spring Space Social" and spent the day sharing her story with eager space fans: in so doing posing for photos, signing items and promoting her new children's book "An Unlikely Astronaut."

Tailored to the inquisitive bystander, the casual enthusiasts and hardcore space nerd alike, the afternoon lecture was light, yet candid and funny in equal measure. Who knew we had an absence of the Disney Channel, MTV and Netflix to thank for bringing Susan to the space program? By way of entertainment Susan's Dad would take his children to the local airfield to watch planes. Almost inevitably, the flying bug bit one of the Still family and it just so happened to be Susan.

While in school, Susan flew solo with just four and a half hours tuition and acquired her pilots licence soon after. By her own admission, more the consequence of a bet between instructors than any particular skill. An aeronautical degree steered her to Lockheed but she found aeronautical engineering boring, harbouring instead ambitions to fly in space.

It was at this point, her boss reached out to a buddy: astronaut Dick Scobee. Dick advised that she should join the military as a pilot if she wanted to increase her chances of being accepted into the astronaut program, so in 1985, with the support of her dad, she joined the U.S. Navy.

I had an opportunity to speak with Susan and asked how she fitted in at the Navy?

"It was a time when women were not readily accepted and typically there was a male fraternity environment that played out in jokes and that kind of stuff: I just ignored all of it."

I understand that the Navy quickly began to take you seriously?

"Yes, at Aviation Officer Candidate school. I was the only women in a class of 60! When we finished, they voted me #1 in the class. So, I was the Regimental Commander for our parade and commissioning. In test pilot school I was also classed the highest academically, but I don't think they do those evaluations anymore."

Scott Altman once told me his favourite aircraft was the Tomcat F14 saying, "It was like flying a Cadillac!" During a 20-year Naval career you logged over 3000 hours in 30 different aircraft. Did you have a favourite?

"Well, Scott Altman is a much larger person than I am. He was probably super uncomfortable in the A4 for instance, which I loved flying. The Tomcat was physically harder for me to fly so I preferred the smaller cockpits like the A4, F16 and the F18. They were my favourites because they fitted me like a glove and were more fun."

You joined NASA in March 1995 and by July 1997 you had two shuttle missions under her belt: STS-83 and 94. But you never flew the shuttle again. Why was that?

"It was my request, after my baby was born and my husband was deployed: I asked not to be put on the flight schedule, which was the opposite of Eileen. She had hers (baby) then walked in and said, "'I'm ready to fly again.' Then in late 2000 my husband was transferred to Washington DC and I was expecting my second child so was posted to NASA HQ: so that essentially took me off the flight schedule for a longer period of time."

"Then when he was transferred to Puerto Rico, I opted to leave NASA and go back to the Navy. I considered being a mission Commander but I wasn't going to give up the opportunity to have kids and I wasn't getting any younger so it just wasn't on the cards.

"My kids would have had to sacrifice had I chosen to go to Houston without my husband to train as a Commander. For me, it wasn't the right thing to do."

Susan insists to this day that bringing up four kids is much, much harder than flying a space shuttle. Who knew?? Susan left NASA in December 2002, retiring from the Navy in June of 2005.

Looking back over your two shuttle missions, what was your most memorable moment?

"Probably the radio call we got up saying that our flight (STS-83) was being terminated and that we were coming home. That really stands out. From my perspective as a pilot, it was not that big of a deal. While everybody was disappointed, I was probably the least disappointed because I didn't have anything on the schedule anyway — except house keeping!

"As a pilot you launch, you fly around the world a few times and you come home to land. But we had two scientists on board for whom this was their one chance to do this science and to fly in space, and all of their science was being cut short. We got maybe a day and a half of science instead of 16. But they ended up going twice and interestingly enough the commander received an email on orbit from the chief astronaut saying they were going to fly us again — and nobody believed it. We all thought it was just to keep our morale up for the return home. But after we landed and got out of the shuttle the administration told us that we were going to fly again. We thought this was like two carnival rides for the price of one."

With hindsight, do you have any regrets from your time at NASA. Is there one thing you really wish you had done?

"I do know that when I went to Pam Melroy's launch on STS-120, I took my two oldest kids when they were still pretty young: 3rd or 4th grade maybe. I took photos and video of the launch, but not a single photo of them watching the launch and I really regret that. Who needs another picture of a shuttle launching but to have a photo of your kids watching the launch would have been so much more spectacular."

Your recent book "An Unlikely Astronaut" is a children's book. Do you have plans to write something for the grownups?

"I am the process of writing a book. It's not a straight up memoir. It is similar to what you heard today. Stories throughout my life that I think are interesting and made me who I am today, but also with a takeaway for the reader. The book will obviously be attractive to the space enthusiast: space enthusiast are great about buying books, right? That part is an easy sell but I want it to be attractive to young people who are trying to succeed in their dreams, whatever they may be. How I learned to harness and overcome my own fears, coupled with what I've learned about leadership; I'd call it a prescriptive memoir than just a memoir... and it's not going to tell my whole story."

That evening's VIP dinner afforded illustrator Becky Hardy an opportunity to discuss her involvement in "An Unlikely Astronaut": a collaborative book co–authored by Susan and Francis French. Arguably one of the UK's finest exports, Francis is certainly worthy of a 10% trade tariff in anybody's book!

By profession, Becky admitted to being a tax advisor. While there may have been a sharp intake of breath from some in the audience, and I'm convinced I heard several people clenching in their seats, clearly nobody held that against Becky as all the books on her Trade stand sold out in minutes.

An auction of four choice framed pieces (two signed by Susan and two by Charlie Duke) raised much needed funds for a project close to Rowland's heart. At least once a year, he takes a coach load of under privileged children to the National Space Centre in Leicester and acts as their tour guide on a STEM and space themed day out. If spending time with an astronaut is not sufficient to entice folks to support Rowland's next Armchair Astronaut event, his support for the children most certainly is.

posted 05-14-2025 01:20 PM               

We certainly put the Social in to this "Space Social" with so many guests commenting how great it was to meet old friends again, many for the first time since COVID, and make new friends. We raised enough money to almost cover a primary school coach trip to the National Space Centre (or other UK space attraction).