Veteran astronaut Duane Carey leaves space to see the world

October 21, 2004

Nicole Cloutier
Johnson Space Center, TX
281/483-5111



Report #J04-048

VETERAN ASTRONAUT DUANE CAREY LEAVES SPACE TO SEE THE WORLD

After fulfilling one dream to pilot a Space Shuttle and see the world from
space, Astronaut Duane G. "Digger" Carey (Lt. Col, USAF-Ret) has left NASA
to pursue another -- to see the planet up close from the open road.

Carey plans to begin a motorcycle tour of the United States and eventually
the world, camping along the way. He and his wife, Cheryl, are moving to
Colorado Springs, CO, to prepare for the trip. They plan to launch their
travels with a break-in expedition to Alaska.

Selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1996, Carey served as pilot of Space
Shuttle mission STS-109 in 2002, a maintenance flight to the Hubble Space
Telescope. STS-109 orbited the earth 165 times, traveling about 3.9 million
miles.

"Duane is an exceptional Shuttle pilot, but years ago he was bitten by the
motorcycle touring bug, and he always wanted to return to near-Earth
exploration of our country aboard a motorcycle," said Ken Bowersox, Director
of Flight Crew Operations. "We'll really miss his skill and expertise, but
we all envy him in some way for heading off in a new direction."

"Cheryl and I will attempt to consummate a dream we first envisioned
over 25 years ago," Carey said. "Our 22-plus years of public
service in the United States Air Force and NASA have been incredibly
rewarding, and we hope we've contributed something useful to our country
over those years. Please join us in our hopes that America will continue her
push for the stars, a quest that represents the single best hope for all of
our futures."

As a young man, Carey discovered motorcycle touring and traveled the U.S.,
Mexico and Canada. He met his wife during that time, and they traveled
together. Later, they settled down to raise a family. Carey began a career
in the Air Force.

"I was lucky," Carey said. "In the Air Force, I learned to fly
jets, and I did pretty well at it. I love flying. When I was able to join
NASA and fly in space, I realized one of my greatest dreams."

But despite those pinnacles of success at his chosen profession, the dream
of traveling the road and discovering the world along the way has always
remained.
"Many people would be amazed, but every day, every day, since those days on
the road, I've had moments thinking about that experience. It's a passion
for me," he said. "Even while looking down from space, I would imagine
moving across those green expanses on a motorcycle. Now, I'll be traveling
those roads and looking up to where I once was."

During his travels, Carey plans to talk to young people about the importance
of math and science and the wonder of space travel.

"I owe a lot to my country," he explained. "I've been an Air Force
jet pilot, and I've been an astronaut. And now, I want to tell people the
importance of space flight, especially in the smaller, more rural
communities I expect to visit."

Around campfires, there will be great surprise, and probably disbelief, when
Carey relays to fellow campers his background as an astronaut, an astronaut
far from the beaten path.

"To explore, we must always take some risks. We have to explore new
territory. We don't know what we'll find out there, but we have to go out
and find our future," he said.

Complete biographical information for Carey is available at:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/carey.html

For more information on NASA, visit:

www.nasa.gov




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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info