RICHMOND, Va. -- A sold-out crowd packed an auditorium inside the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on Saturday to hear from Virginia native, former NFL player and retired NASA Astronaut Leland Melvin and get signed copies of his book, Chasing Space.
Today, Melvin travels around sharing his story hoping to inspire young people. In his life he has seen much success and many setbacks, but he remained determined to achieve his goals.
"Wherever I go, I try to wear my flight suit so they can see, 'Hey, wait a minute, this guy's an astronaut? He's from Lynchburg? He's from Virginia?' And that gives him the opportunity to say, 'Well, if he can do it, I can,'" Melvin said.
Melvin's interest in STEM began early as a child in Lynchburg. Saturday, he told stories from his youth of turning an old Merita bread truck into an RV with his dad, so his family could travel and chemistry experiments at home in the living room.
Smart and athletic, Melvin went on to attend the University of Richmond, earning a Bachelor of Science degree and also playing football.
He was later drafted by the Detroit Lions in the NFL. He also spent times with the Dallas Cowboys. While he was playing for the Cowboys, at one point, he was also simultaneously working towards a master's degree from the University of Virginia.
Due to injury, Melvin was cut from both teams and when his time with the Cowboys came to an end, his education helped him land a job with NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton in 1989. He worked as an Aerospace Research Engineer.
"Always, always kids, have your education. No matter what happens to you, they can't take that away from you," Melvin told the crowd.
FULL INTERVIEW: Leland Pinder interviews astronaut Leland Melvin
In the late 1990s, Melvin was admitted to NASA's astronaut training program, but an underwater mishap cost him his hearing and he was medically disqualified from flying.
"They had me in the hospital, my family came to visit. People were from all over the world were reaching out to support me ... I was sad, I was depressed. I was at the top of my career, because if I had finished that training, I would have been assigned to a mission," Melvin said.
Melvin continued working with NASA in other roles and several years later his hearing would return and his dream of going to space would come true. He was cleared to fly launching into space in 2008 and again in 2009.
Melvin's message Saturday centered on the importance of those who support and believe in you and to also believe in yourself. Kids like 14-year-old Grayson Heffernen are taking that message to heart.
"I feel inspired ... I feel like I have someone to back me up and be with me the whole way through my history and career and be ready when the opportunity comes to, if it's astronaut, being an astronaut," Heffernen said.
Melvin's visit comes as the Virginia Museum of History & Culture's newest exhibition is on display, "Apollo: When We Went to the Moon."The museum calls it an interactive exhibition that chronicles how space exploration that began as an extension of the cold war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union ultimately led to international cooperation both on and off earth. The exhibit will be on display through Dec. 31, 2023.
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