In 1975, space exploration was big news.  The Apollo program was in full swing and astronauts were landing on the moon and the establishment of space station was under consideration.

At that same time, Steve Bowen was making his way through Cohasset schools and was gaining a passion and aptitude for math and science.  When he graduated from Cohasset High in 1982 he knew he wanted to be engineer, but the realization of bigger dreams awaited him.

Astronaut and Navy Captain Steve Bowen returned to town this week and visited all three school buildings to talk about his space flights.  Bowen has flown to space twice as a NASA astronaut and done a total of five spacewalks.  He is also a highly decorated nuclear powered submarine Captain in the U.S. Navy.

Dressed in his navy blue astronaut jumpsuit and flight jacket, Bowen, talked about his two space experiences, but his purpose for coming to Cohasset schools was about more than sharing his space adventures.  Bowen hoped to inspire quite a few of them into careers in math and science, and maybe even find a future astronaut among them.

“Engineering and science improve the way we live everyday and you can be a part of that,” Bowen said, adding space exploration brings back research and technology that changes the lives of many.

On Tuesday, Bowen, a 1982 CHS graduate, gave presentations to students at Osgood, Deer Hill, and the Middle School.  The Cohasset PSO supported the programs.

“The key is understanding what (the space program) brings back to society,” Bowen said.  The first laptop computer was used when astronauts landed on the moon.  Astronauts on the moon used a cordless drill and cell phone technology that would not be possible without research done in space, he said.  

Bowen said there was once a time, when he was in the lower elementary grades, that he was not considered a strong reader.  But, he made a decision to learn to read and learn to read well.  By the end of the school year he said he was one of the best readers in the class.

“I worked really hard and tried to figure out why should I learn to read,” Bowen said.  Once he realized reading was the key to everything he was determined to be good at it.

“The more things you learn to do well the more opportunities you will have,” he said.  After graduating from Cohasset High, he went on to earn degrees from the Naval Academy and MIT.

“I did all that because someone at Cohasset Schools convinced me I should learn how to read,” Bowen said.

In May Bowen was part of the STS-132 Atlantis mission that helped install new fuel cell batteries at the International Space Station.

Aided by a set of slides and video of his time in space from the launch to the spacewalks to landing back on Earth for both space shuttle flights, Bowen described how it felt to launch from space, to look out the window and see earth down below and have a carpet of stars enveloping them.

“One of the benefits of being an astronaut is your get to look out the window and see the world below.  Every 90-minutes you circle the Earth,” Bowen said.

One of the things Bowen stressed is the amount of teamwork required to go to space, not only among the flight crew, but also the training and mission control teams.

“I’m fortunate to enjoy the view from space when I’m up there, but I always remember the hundreds of people working really hard to be sure we can do our job safely,” Bowen said.  He showed the students several photos of the “team-oriented crew” – one at the Astrodome and another posing as a band. 

When Bowen put a photo of Cohasset on the screen the students erupted in excited conversation.  They laughed when he showed a video of the astronauts eating food in space and doing mid-air flips while at the space station.

When given the chance to ask questions, the students peppered the hometown hero on everything from space food (it’s not bad), how much a space suit costs (several million dollars), and how long it takes to get to space (eight minutes from takeoff to orbiting at 17,000 miles per hour).

On his Atlantis space shuttle voyage Bowen brought a little piece of Cohasset with him.  A Cohasset flag, designed and sold by the Cohasset Historical Society, bravely made its way into space.  Bowen returned the flag to Cohasset on his recent trip.  At a Board of Selectmen’s meeting Monday night, Selectman Ted Carr said he’d like the board to discuss a prominent place to display the flag. 

http://www.wickedlocal.com/cohasset/features/x1757253601/Cohasset-astronaut-comes-to-town