{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Ask A Kansan","title":"‘Not Trying Was Not Okay’: How Kansas Astronomer Steve Hawley Became an Astronaut | Orbiting Kansas","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4394,"description":"How does it feel to hold a billion-dollar telescope at the end of a robotic arm, floating above the Earth, knowing you're about to let it go and change our understanding of the universe forever? \n\nWe sat down with someone who did exactly that — not once, but twice.\n\nSteve Hawley grew up in Salina, Kansas, decided he wanted to be an astronomer in third grade, and went on to fly five Space Shuttle missions over a 20-year career at NASA. He deployed the Hubble Space Telescope on STS-31, serviced it on STS-82, and launched the Chandra X-ray Observatory on his final flight. He's one of the only people — maybe the only person — to have worked on Hubble in space and then used it for research back on the ground. We talked about everything from his Kansas roots and KU education, to the terrifying pad abort on Discovery's maiden voyage, to the Hubble Deep Field, dark matter, the future of space telescopes, and the deeply personal story behind his new memoir, Eyes to the Stars: A Memoir for the Space Shuttle Generation. Steve also shared stories about his father — a Presbyterian minister who became, in effect, the astronauts' chaplain — giving the invocation at the Challenger memorial service and writing messages for crews spending Christmas in orbit.\n\nThis is a conversation with a Kansan who helped write some of the most important chapters in the history of space exploration. We think you'll understand why it was a pivotal moment for us.\n\nHIGHLIGHTS\n\n• Steve recounts spotting a Starlink launch streaking across the Kansas sky near Colby — and nearly running off the road.\n• The third-grade science unit that sparked a lifelong passion for astronomy, and the fifth-grade launch of Alan Shepard that opened the door to the idea of people in space.\n• How Steve fought to keep the astronomy major alive at KU after the sole astronomy professor retired.\n• The fateful bulletin board posting at UC Santa Cruz: NASA was hiring a new role called \"mission specialist astronaut.\"\n• Steve's...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/31uDhQmE-73zaqpWjXtwnyYffNMsUnDPiL6GtjTddEQ/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mNzBm/YzFkNDBkODVjNGM2/MzMwMGViYjhmZTY4/Nzc0Mi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}