ASTRONAUT RETURNS BANNER FROM SPACE

When NASA astronaut Linda Godwin spoke to the East Missouri District Optimist Convention on Saturday about her 11-day voyage into space, she brought along something special.

Godwin, a native of Jackson, returned the East Missouri District Optimist International banner that went with her aboard the space shuttle Endeavor last spring.

More than 150 Optimists and their families attended the district's 10th annual convention this weekend in Cape Girardeau.

The April mission was Godwin's second flight into space. On her first trip in April 1991, Godwin was a mission specialist aboard the shuttle Atlantis. During her second flight, she was payload commander aboard the Endeavor.

On this year's mission, Godwin and the other astronauts conducted tests on $366 million worth of advanced radar equipment designed to monitor Earth's environment and wildlife.

By the time the mission neared its end, the shuttle's orbit had dropped to a height of 120 miles above Earth. "At that altitude, we had an excellent view of the surface. We could make out the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco," she said.

When it came time for the Endeavor to return to Earth it was with regret, said Godwin. "It was kind of sad to leave up there; it's so peaceful and beautiful," she said."

After a morning landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Godwin was back at her home in Houston by that evening. "After I got home I looked up at the sky and asked myself if I was really up there," she said.

When an astronaut isn't orbiting Earth, they are busy with other duties.

For Godwin, that means serving on an astronaut selection board that will select a new class of astronauts for training. As the deputy chief of the Astronaut Office at Houston, Godwin will stay busy until her next mission into space, which she hopes will come in about two years.

As for her future plans, Godwin plans to stay with the NASA space shuttle program. She said there is no hard rule as to when an astronaut is too old to fly into space. "The space shuttle is much easier on the human body than the old capsule flights of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo," she explained.

Godwin remains optimistic that the beleaguered space station will yet be built in orbit around Earth. "I feel better about its chances now than I did a few years ago. Because of the costs involved, it will probably be a joint venture with the Russians and other counties that are now involved with the United States in the space program."

Godwin said space exploration by the United States and other nations will bring new knowledge about the universe and new discoveries that will benefit those on Earth. She said money spent on the space research and development comes back in the form of new technology that can be applied on Earth.