The Children of October Sky/Rocket Boys - 2010-02-12 06:59:22 One of the pleasures of being the author of Rocket Boys and the subject of the film October Sky is the pleasant knowledge that these two works, one of literature, the other of popular art, continue to have a positive impact on the young people of the United States and even the world.
Recently, I received this letter from the mother of one of those fine children of October Sky:
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Homer, back in 2000 I had sent to you, through my brother-in-law [name deleted], a copy of your book "Rocket Boys" to be autographed by you, for my daughter Sarah [last name deleted]).You had wrote " To a future Rocket Girl". She cried when I gave it to her. At that time, Sarah was going to the University of Michigan, to become an aerospace engineer. When your movie came out she was so excited,she said, that was her and that is what she was going to be. Well, she has made it and then some. After growing up on our, small, horse farm in Paw Paw,MI, my little girl, now works for Lockheed Martin in Calif.(6+ years) and she is the Program Manager of a rocket going up from the Cape on Wed. Feb.10th. That is, as long as the Shuttle goes up, with out any more delays. She is flying to Goddard on Mon.Feb.8th ( Mission Control ) to give the the go ahead, for the instruments, on the launch. Pardon my lack of terms, on the whole mission, Mom's don't always know the language, we just have bragging rights. I would like to know if you could call her there and wish her luck on her first rocket or something on that order? That, I think, would blow her mind. I can't explain all the things that Sarah has done, in this short message, but I think you would be impressed. She's my Rocket Girl that I am so proud of and I would be thankful if you could do this surprise for her and me. Thank you for your time now and from the past.
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The mission Sarah's mother was writing about was the Sun Dynamics Laboratory (SDO) which will allow scientists to understand much more about the star around which we orbit. After an Atlas-V rocket successfully blasted the SDO into space, I called Sarah. She was busy so I left a message. When she got it, she played it on the speaker phone for her team. Then she called me back and we had a great conversation. She and her team are true Rocket Girls and Rocket Boys and I could not possibly be prouder of her and them.
So I asked Sarah and her mom if I could put this story on my blog and here was Sarah's gracious reply:
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Hi Mom and Homer!
I would be more than honored for you to post my mom's letter in your blog, Homer!
In the celebration of honesty, I do want to mention that I was not *quite* the Program Manager of the rocket, but rather the Program Manager of one of the payload instruments on SDO, AIA (as well as the Flight Operations Lead of 2 of the 3 payload instruments -- AIA and HMI). So perhaps that minor edit should be made before posting?
Thank you both so very much for the kindness, thoughtfulness and encouragement -- it has been priceless to my soul and success.
Love and Light, Sarah
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You're welcome, Sarah. But thank you Sarahs everywhere, and also you moms and dads who love and encourage your children to excel. You give me hope. Go forth, grasp the future away from the nay-sayers, and, in the words of my fellow West Virginian, Chuck Yeager, PRESS ON!
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