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Town Topics
=93Never Give Up on Your Dreams=94 Greg Olsen Tells Young =
Achievers
Linda Arntzenius
Princeton=92s own astronaut Greg Olsen =97 the third =
private citizen=20
to orbit the earth on the International Space Station (ISS) =97 visited =
the Henry=20
Pannell Center last Thursday to talk about the experience with children =
in the=20
Princeton Young Achievers program.
The third, fourth, and fifth graders listened as Mr. =
Olsen=20
described his 10 days in space, more than 150 orbits of the earth, and =
almost=20
four million miles of weightless travel.
In October, 2005, Mr. Olsen was launched in a Russian =
Soyuz=20
rocket TMA-7 with cosmonaut Valeri Tokarev and astronaut Bill McArthur =
toward=20
the ISS, 220 miles above the earth. Traveling at 17,000 miles an hour, =
faster=20
than a bullet, it took less than 10 minutes to get into orbit and two =
days to=20
reach the space station.
Before undertaking the journey, he trained for six =
months at the=20
Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Moscow. The most difficult =
task was=20
learning Russian, he said.
Mr. Olsen told the young achievers that he=92d dreamed =
of going=20
into space ever since Russian Yuri Gagarin became the first man to do =
so. He saw=20
his chance after reading about the company Space Adventures while =
enjoying his=20
morning visit to Starbucks on Nassau Street.
He explained that although he had failed an important=20
trigonometry exam in high school =97 and had been refused entry into =
college=20
because of it =97 he never gave up on his dream. He worked hard over the =
summer to=20
retake that exam and went on to a career as a research scientist and =
highly=20
successful entrepreneur. While he didn=92t rocket into weightlessness =
until the=20
age of 60, his message was clear: The secret to success in life is never =
to give=20
up on your dreams.
The children watched a video of Mr. Olsen=92s trip, =
passed around=20
his space glove, and had lots of questions to ask: How do you eat in =
space? How=20
do you sleep? What keeps you from floating when you are sleeping? Were =
you=20
scared? To this last question, Mr. Olsen replied: =93Honestly, I =
wasn=92t, because=20
it was something I really wanted to do.=94 They laughed to see Mr. Olsen =
drinking=20
water in a weightless environment =97 the liquid formed a ball when =
released from=20
the water fountain and drifted towards his open mouth.
Viewing scenes of Mr. Olsen moving himself through the =
weightless=20
environment of the space station, as if swimming through the air, one =
fourth=20
grader responded: =93That=92s cool. I want to do that.=94
=93The hard thing is stopping,=94 said Mr. Olsen. One =
concept that=20
seemed difficult to get across to the young students was the fact that =
in space=20
there is no up and no down. Did you ever sleep upside down, asked one =
boy. Mr.=20
Olsen explained that he had to be strapped down while sleeping. Foot =
straps=20
enable cosmonauts to stay in place while working.
For his visit to the Pannell center, Mr. Olsen sported =
the=20
jumpsuit he=92d worn on board the space station. The suit pockets all =
had zippers.=20
Once, he said, he put his small camera back into a pocket, which he =
forgot to=20
zip closed. His camera floated off and he never saw it again.
He described the process of returning to earth. The =
descent=20
module, which was protected by a heat shield, was the only thing that =
survived=20
the high speed return; everything else burnt up. =93That was the most =
exciting=20
part,=94 he said.
He returned to earth with cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and =
astronaut=20
John Phillips. When he got back to earth he was dizzy and an inch =
taller, he=20
said. The change in his height was a result of the lack of gravity. =
After a=20
couple of days back on Earth, he lost the extra inch.
The presentation was just one of many that Mr. Olsen =
has given to=20
encourage children, especially minorities and girls, to consider careers =
in=20
science and engineering. He is active in the Trenton Big Brothers and =
Sisters=20
program, the Trenton Boys and Girls Club, as well as the Trenton Soup =
Kitchen,=20
the Princeton Historical Society, and other non-profit organizations. =
President=20
of his own Princeton-based company, GHO Ventures, he once taught =
elementary=20
physics classes and worked at RCA Labs (Sarnoff Center) from 1972 to =
1983.
Princeton Young Achievers (PYA) is an after-school =
program that=20
helps Princeton K-5th graders from low- and moderate-income =
neighborhoods=20
improve their school performance and English language skills Monday =
through=20
Friday, in three neighborhood centers: the Henry F. Pannell Learning =
Center on=20
Clay and Witherspoon Streets, and Learning Centers at Princeton =
Community=20
Village and Redding Circle. Children receive homework support, =
enrichment=20
activities, and one-on-one tutoring.
For more information about Mr. Olsen=92s journey to the =
International Space Station, visit: http://ghoventures.com/bio.aspx. =
Anyone=20
interested in becoming a PYA volunteer or making a donation, should =
contact=20
Princeton Young Achievers, 25 Valley Road, Princeton, N.J. 08540. For =
more=20
information, call (609) 806-4216, or visit: =
www.princetonyoungachievers.org.