Former Spider to return to space

After being back on Earth for only nine months, Leland Melvin is already training for his next trip to space.

The 1986 University of Richmond alumnus's next mission, targeted to launch in Oct. 2009, will return him to the International Space Station to deliver two Express Logistics Carriers, or ELC racks, which are sets of spare pumps, gyros and other equipment that would be used to replace damaged or worn pieces of the station.

"It's like having an extra coat in the closet," Melvin said.

He said he was excited to see what the space station would look like because two more pieces had been added since his last mission.

His training for the Discovery mission has been focused around developing skills such as precision and physical fitness. Exercise and endurance are important because of the strain of the pressurized suits, and accuracy and delicacy are vital when maneuvering the robotic arm that will install the racks. Melvin said one wrong move could crush someone into the side of the space station.

On Discovery, Melvin will again fly as a mission specialist, but he will be with an entirely new crew of astronauts, he said. There will be one other mission specialist assigned to the flight deck, two more assigned to the mid-deck, a pilot and a commander. His favorite thing about training for space is being part of a team, he said.

At Richmond, Melvin was a standout football player and was drafted by the Detroit Lions during the 1986 NFL draft. He injured his hamstring during the final week of training camp and was released, but was later picked up by the Dallas Cowboys.

His football career ended when he re-injured his hamstring playing for the Cowboys in 1987.

That was when Melvin decided to put his Chemistry degree from Richmond and his master's degree in materials science engineering from the University of Virginia to use. He began working at NASA Langley in Hampton, Va.

In 1997, his friend suggested he consider the astronaut program and gave him an application, he said.

He was accepted into the 1998 class, but it was nine years before he would hear his first 10-second countdown.

Chemistry Department Chairman William Myers, a professor of Melvin's at Richmond, was one of the people who witnessed the Atlantis launch and said he would definitely take advantage of any opportunity he had to see the Discovery launch next fall.

"I'm a chemist, so I know what explosions are like," Myers said, "and the six seconds before, it was just a big rush. There is this sense that this can't be stopped; it's going to happen ... When I did see it, it was spectacular. You can sit there and think you've seen it all, but you haven't."

As a student, Melvin always had an obvious desire to pursue science, Myers said. His picture in Sports Illustrated was unlike any other football student photo featured in that issue -- it showed him wearing a lab coat and grinning with a thermos of liquid nitrogen.

"I think that picture says more than almost anything I can say," Myers said. "Yeah, he was a first-rate athlete with all kinds of potential for taking it to the next level ... but at heart, he was curious."

On his Discovery mission, Melvin is most looking forward to seeing the view of Earth from space for a second time. He remembered his crewmate Rex tapping him on the shoulder as Atlantis took off, and telling him to look out the window. He said the sight of the Florida coast rapidly disappearing had been the most spectacular thing he had ever seen.

"This time I'll try and get a picture of UR," he said. "I think it may have been cloudy last time."

Contact reporter Emily Vivani at emily.vivani@richmond.edu