November 16, 2000

WKU Graduate, NASA Astronaut Terry Wilcutt Describes Recent Shuttle Mission To International Space Station

Listen to a short audio clip of Wilcutt's presentation. (RealPlayer required)

Bowling Green, Ky. - From an orbit 250 miles above the Earth, Col. Terry Wilcutt has a clear view of the planet and its future.

"When I look out at planet below I think about our history and where we've been and where we're going as a species," Wilcutt said Thursday night at Western Kentucky University.

"We have the intelligence to actually destroy the planet, destroy ourselves. We've created weapons. We're willing to pollute the environment and things like that," said Wilcutt, a 1974 WKU graduate and NASA astronaut.

"What I hope as a person and what I see when I look down is that not only have we become more intelligent, hopefully we've become more wise. And with this wisdom we'll use that to prevent things like that from eradicating ourselves and other species and make this world a better place.

"It is really true in space you don't see boundaries between countries. We all look like we're in this together."

In a presentation at Van Meter Auditorium, the Logan County native described the September flight of space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station.
Wilcutt commanded the seven-member crew on a 12-day mission to prepare the space station for its first permanent crew, which arrived about two weeks ago.

The STS-106 flight tasks included unloading cargo and supplies, installing equipment and connecting power and data cables during a spacewalk. As part of his video and slide presentation, Wilcutt showed members of the flight team using a hammer and chisel on a bracket to install a battery.
"It's not all rocket science," he said.

STS-106 was Wilcutt's fourth trip aboard a space shuttle. He also commanded STS-89 in 1998 and was the pilot on STS-68 in 1994 and STS-79 in 1996.
During each mission, Wilcutt has taken Western memorabilia with him. Wilcutt presented President Gary Ransdell with a red towel and WKU seal and presented Student Government Association President Cassie Martin with a Western creed.
"My math degree at Western is what got me where I am today," Wilcutt said.