Liftoff for D.C. Child With a Dream
Astronaut's Mother Calls It 'Awesome'
Shuttle Endeavour astronaut Alvin Drew (R) shows a sign and gives a thumbs-up as Commander Scott Kelly (L) suits up.
(NASA TV via Reuters)
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Thursday, August 9, 2007
Anxiety was the furthest thing from Muriel Drew's mind as she and her family waited for the space shuttle Endeavour to launch yesterday evening.
The Fort Washington resident was too proud of her son, Benjamin Alvin Drew Jr., 44, who was finally realizing his dream of going into space.
"I saw him yesterday, and he's happy . . . he's just so happy to be part of this mission," she said. "I'm happy for him. It's very exciting, and we couldn't be more proud of him."
Muriel Drew said she realizes the historic nature of Drew's mission, which includes the first teacher to go into space since Christa McAuliffe died with fellow astronauts on the Challenger in 1986. McAuliffe, like Drew, had a Prince George's County connection, having received a master's degree from Bowie State University.
Muriel Drew was focused on this day's events rather than the past.
"I'm just hoping that the space shuttle goes up safely and comes down safely," she said.
She was enjoying the idea of seeing the shuttle launch as much as her son was enjoying participating in it.
"I'm sure it will be an awesome sight," said Muriel Drew hours before liftoff in a telephone interview from Cocoa Beach, Fla., where she was staying. "This is my first time to see a launch."
Her son's fascination with space began shortly after an Apollo launch. "It inspired him," she said.
After that, he and his friends would play with rockets.
"He's always wanted to be an astronaut," she said. "All that got him to the point where he is now."
Astronaut Drew and six others, including the teacher, Barbara Morgan, 55, lifted off at 6:36 p.m. from Cape Canaveral. Morgan, who was McAulliffe's backup in 1986, was a teacher in Idaho before joining NASA in 1998 as its first educator astronaut.
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