Photo: Kathleen O'Rourke / King School

After 228 days in space, Conn. astronaut retires

After 228 days in space on three space shuttle missions and one long stay at the International Space Station, Connecticuts astronaut has retired.

Rick Mastracchio, 57, a UConn graduate and Waterbury native retired from NASA on Friday.

"Rick is a classmate and a friend and he has done great work for NASA, both in space and on the ground," Chief Astronaut Pat Forrester said in a release announcing the veteran spacemans retirement.

Forrester, who was selected as an astronaut in the same class as Mastracchio, said "his breadth of experience over three decades in human spaceflight will serve him well as he moves on to his next endeavor."

During his four spaceflights, Mastracchio took photos of his native Connecticut from high above. He used social media to post photos and send greetings to Nutmeg State residents on Earth. His most recent mission ended in May 2014 after he spent 188 days aboard the International Space Station.

Some of the photos are so detailed, you can even see Charles Island in Milford, Interstate 95 and major southwest Connecticut cities.

Touched down in Stamford

In 2014, Mastracchio and colleague Steve Swanson did a live question-and-answer session from the space station with children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which had a new building since the December 2012 shooting that killed 26 people.

Last March, Mastracchio visited King School in Stamford where he told students of his time in space.

"My first mission, I would float upside down and hang from the ceiling eating my lunch, for no really good reason other than I can float upside down and eat my lunch," Mastracchio said. "It's really neat."

Mastracchio, who made nine spacewalks since 1996, told students that weird things happen in space aside from the challenges of simple-on-Earth tasks like showering and shoe-tying.

The lack of gravity causes astronauts to lose the calluses they have on the bottoms of their feet and develop new ones on top. While orbiting Earth, they experience 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours. Six people sharing the same filtered air gives the International Space Station a unique smell.

Weightlessness also causes fluid retention.

"You get this puffy head and you feel warm like maybe you have a bit of a fever," Mastracchio said. "You see some astronauts and it's really, really obvious. Your body goes through a lot of changes in both directions."

But nothing beats floating.

"It's really cool," he said. "It's like you're Superman."

From UConn to space

In 1982, Mastracchio was awarded a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Connecticut, and two master of science degrees in electrical engineering and physical science, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and University of Houston-Clear Lake, respectively.

In 2014, he delivered the graduation address to UConns school of engineering. His recorded address was shown on the video boards at Gampel Pavilion to about 5,000 people, including more than 400 graduating seniors and their families, and several members of Mastracchio's family, including his wife, Candi.

Beginning in 1987, Mastracchio worked first with Hamilton Standard and then with Rockwell Shuttle Operations Co. before coming to NASA in 1990 as an engineer. He worked in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory on space shuttle flight software, and in the Astronaut Office on ascent and abort procedures for crew members. From there, he became a Guidance and Procedures Officer flight controller, working in mission control for space shuttle ascents and entries, before being selected as an astronaut in 1996.

The missions

His first flight, STS-106, came in 2000, on board space shuttle Atlantis, when he and his crewmates worked to prepare the space station for its first expedition crew. He returned aboard space shuttle Endeavour for STS-118 in 2007, when as lead spacewalker, he participated in three spacewalks to install a new truss segment, a new gyroscope and a new spare parts platform on the space station's exterior.

In 2010, Mastracchio was part of the STS-131 crew of space shuttle Discovery. He performed another three spacewalks and helped deliver 27,000 pounds of hardware, including three experiment racks and new sleeping quarters for the space station. He was then able to put the hardware to use in 2014, when he spent 188 days in space as part of the Expedition 38 and 39 crews. During that stay, he performed three more spacewalks, leaving him with a total of 53 hours spent outside the space station on nine spacewalks.

Earlier reporting by Liz Skalka was used in this story.

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After 228 days in space, Conn. astronaut retires - CT Post