Astronaut Wilcutt Helps Museum
Open Flight Exhibit

September 15, 2003

Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University's celebration of the 100th anniversary of flight got a boost Saturday from astronaut Terry Wilcutt.

Wilcutt, a Logan County native and 1974 WKU graduate, presented the Kentucky Museum with a flight suit, helmet and boots that will join other memorabilia on display at the museum.

On Saturday, the museum opened "The Wright Approach: Wilbur and Orville and Their Flying Machine," an exhibit of the Wright Brothers historic first flight in 1903. In a presentation titled "Living Your Dreams," Wilcutt discussed the space program including the International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope and the Columbia shuttle disaster.

"We lost seven really good friends," he said, but "they'd want us to keep doing what we're doing."

Wilcutt is confident NASA will rebound from the Columbia mishap and that he'll return to space next year.

"We expect to come out of this stronger and safer. We're in no rush. We want it done right," said Wilcutt, who is training for his fifth shuttle mission scheduled for September 2004.

Depending on the findings of congressional hearings, NASA could resume shuttle flights in March 2004. "Congress should ask tough questions," Wilcutt said. "The astronauts, our families and the American taxpayers are their customers. The better questions they ask, the better off we are."

Wilcutt plans to retire from the U.S. Marine Corps in January but will remain with NASA as a civilian astronaut. Wilcutt hasn't decided what he'll do once his career in space ends, but the former teacher hasn't ruled out a return to the classroom.

In a career that's included 27 years with the Marine Corps, training at "Top Gun" flight school and 1,007 hours in space, Wilcutt calls teaching his most rewarding job. "I might end up back in the classroom. That's attractive to me," he said.

As a teacher, Wilcutt said he could influence students and help them succeed in life. His advice for children: "Don't let someone tell you no. Don't give up on your dream."

During Saturday's event, Steve Parker of the Aviation Museum of Kentucky announced that Wilcutt has been nominated for the Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame.

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-WKU-