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Summary:

Leland Melvin is the only person in history to catch a pass in the National Football League and in space. Though his path from the gridiron to the heavens was riddled with setbacks and injury, Leland persevered to reach the stars. While training with NASA, Leland suffered a severe injury that left him deaf. He was relegated to earthbound assignments but chose to remain and support his astronaut family. His loyalty paid off: after he recovered partial hearing, he earned his eligibility for space travel. He served as a mission specialist for two flights aboard the shuttle Atlantis, working on the International Space Station. In this memoir, the former NASA astronaut and professional athlete offers an examination of the intersecting roles of community, perseverance, and grace that align to shape our opportunities and outcomes. Chasing Space is not the story of one man but the story of many men and women, scientists and mentors, who helped him defy the odds and live out an uncommon destiny. The life story of Leland -- chemist, athlete, engineer, and space traveler -- is a study in the science of achievement.

Table of Contents:

• I really can't hear
• Vision, grit, and Lynchburg
• Second chances
• A short life in the NFL
• NASA Langley
• The world's most exclusive club
• Recovery and tragedy
• Training for space
• The final frontier
• Educator
• The next mission.

Author/Creator:

Melvin, Leland, 1964- , author

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

Chasing space: an astronaut's story of grit, grace, and second chances [by Melvin, L.]

Subjects:

Melvin, Leland, 1964-

International Space Station

Detroit Lions (Football team)

African American astronauts — Biography

African American football players — Biography

Acoustic trauma — Patients

Deaf people — Biography

African American astronauts

African American football players

Acoustic trauma

Patients

Deaf

United States

Genres:

Autobiographies

Biographies

Physical Description:

vii, 241 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 20 cm

Call Numbers:

TL789.85.M46 A3 2018

ISBNs:

9780062496737 (paperback)
0062496735 (paperback)

OCLC Numbers:

1002125747