Vance Brand tells tales of space exploration at museum – Longmont … – Longmont Times-Call

If you go

What: Visit and lecture by retired NASA astronaut Vance Brand

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 17

Where: Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road, Longmont

Cost: $12 general, $10 museum members

More info: 303-651-8374 or longmontmuseum.org

The first hint of looming cosmic journeys and eventual space exploration came to Vance Brand when he was a lifeguard and gatekeeper at the Boulder Reservoir.

It was 1957, and Brand was working his way through college at the University of Colorado. He was making his rounds at the reservoir when someone approached with earth-shattering news. The United States' Cold War adversary had a made a move that would have permanent and profound consequences for the human race.

"They informed me that the Russians had just launched a satellite called Sputnik into space," Brand recalled from his home in the Sierra Madre Mountains north of Los Angeles. "That was my introduction, my first glimmerings of the space program."

In the late 1950s, the prospect of humans sending a functioning satellite into space was the stuff of science fiction and fantasy for Brand, who'd grown up in the largely rural, farm-based community of Longmont. Less than 20 years later, however, in 1975, the Longmont High School graduate would journey into space as a command module pilot on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission. That would be the first of four space flights for Brand, who logged nearly 45 hours in spacecraft over the course of his impressive career.

Brand will reflect on his deep ties to the formative days of the U.S. space program during a visit to his hometown this week. The former naval officer, aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot and NASA astronaut will lead a presentation at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17, at the Longmont Museum. Brand will sign copies of his new autobiography, "Flying Higher and Faster," which will be available to buy in the museum's gift shop.

For a community that's long held Brand as a local legend, the visit will be a chance to consider the evolution of technology, aviation and exploration in the 20th century. On a more essential level, it'll be a chance to catch up with a hometown hero.

"Given how extraordinary his accomplishments are, he is such a humble person. It's not about him. He wants it to be about the broader issues of space exploration and what one person can do," said Erik Mason, curator of research at the Longmont Museum. "I think that's such a refreshing attitude in our celebrity-driven culture. It's so amazing to hear someone who's had such an incredible series of adventures."

For Brand, the adventures that included journeys to the cosmos had simple roots. During his early days as a Marine Corps recruit in North Carolina, he couldn't stop himself from gazing at the jets that took off every morning. The roar of the engines and the sight of the crafts in flight proved irresistible to Brand, who quickly saw flight as a professional and personal goal.

"It was an emotional decision," Brand said. "I thought that was about the coolest thing I'd ever seen, seeing the jets take off at Cherry Point. I immediately applied for naval flight training program."

That was the first step on a road that would lead to space exploration. Brand became a naval aviator for the Marine Corps, and he worked as a test pilot for the Lockheed Corporation in the early 1960s. He built up an impressive resume that eventually earned him a spot as one of 19 pilot astronauts recruited by NASA in 1966.

"I just wanted to be a pilot and fly airplanes. Once the space program did start, I thought, well, this is just a natural evolution," Brand said. "I went from military to pilot to test pilot. I wanted to fly higher and faster. I decided to apply for the space program."

Brand had to wait until 1975 for his first mission to space the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission saw Brand and his fellow crew members meeting Soviet cosmonauts in space. It was the ceremonial end of the space race, which had kicked off with the launch of Sputnik. That mission offered different levels of context for Brand and his fellow crew members.

"When you can go around the earth in 90 minutes, when you can look out at the stars and galaxies ... You come to realize that it's a small place in the big scheme of things, and that you're also a very small entity in the big scheme of things," Brand said. "It was interesting and a bit humbling to look down on the earth. You do realize that people on earth are one big family."

The literal global view of humanity had echoes in Brand's work with Russian cosmonauts. The boundaries of nationalities and countries disappeared outside earth's bounds. In the height of the Cold War, Brand and his fellow crew members found a way to relate to their Russian counterparts in a simple and direct way.

"It all worked out very well. We didn't have any fistfights or anything as a matter of fact, we trained together for some time before the flight," Brand said. "We got to be good friends and comrades in space flight at that time."

Subsequent space missions would follow in 1984 and 1990, journeys that saw Brand deploying communications satellites and conducting complex astronomical research. Still, Brand remains humble when he speaks about his career. After decades of pushing the boundaries of flight and the limits of human exploration, Brand is now happy to travel and explore the stretches of nature near his California home. He has confidence that the next generation of explorers will make even greater strides, and he has confidence in Longmont's coming crop of eager astronauts.

"This field does take preparation, doing well in school, math and sciences. I'm sure there are a lot smarter kids in Longmont High School than me," Brand said. "I've found as an ordinary person that I could get into this field and that it was very exciting," he concluded simply.

Originally posted here:

Vance Brand tells tales of space exploration at museum - Longmont ... - Longmont Times-Call