Indexes
February 9th, 2010
February 8th, 2010
February 6th, 2010
February 5th, 2010
February 4th, 2010
February 3rd, 2010
February 2nd, 2010
The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.
- Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
- Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
- President Obama's first year (45)
- Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
- Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
- Writer comments on Neely column (42)
- The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
- Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
- We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
- Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)
ADVERTISEMENT
Jose Hernandez scheduled to go on his first space mission in August
Astronaut grew up in Lodi and Stockton
Monday, June 29, 2009 12:28 PM PDT
Jose Hernandez, an astronaut who grew up as a farm worker in Lodi and Stockton, is scheduled to embark on his first space flight on Aug. 18.
He was scheduled to lift off on the space shuttle Discovery on Aug. 7, his 47th birthday, but his flight was postponed due to a hydrogen leak in another shuttle, the Endeavor, which will lift off in July.
Jose Hernandez
Hernandez will be part of a seven-member crew, three of whom will be space walking. One crew member will go to the International Space Station, and an astronaut at the station will join Hernandez's crew.
Hernandez and his three siblings succeeded in life without understanding English for several years, as his parents, Salvador and Julia Hernandez, picked crops in the Lodi area in the 1960s and '70s. The family grew up mostly in east Stockton, but also lived on Coral Post Road, a rural area in southeast Lodi. His parents still live there. He lives in Houston with his wife, Adela, and their five children.
Hernandez, relaxing at his home on Sunday afternoon watching the USA-Brazil soccer game, talked to News-Sentinel staff writer Ross Farrow by phone about his upcoming space flight.
Q: Has it sunk in that you're really going to go up in space?
A: We train and we work hard, so you start getting used to the idea. Once I'm sitting down in the shuttle, I think it will finally sink in.
Q: What will your role be?
A: I am a robotics operator, and I'm in charge of dressing the astronauts up and making sure space suits are working. Seven us are on crew.
Q: Are you nervous?
A: No. There's hardly any time to think about it. It's more like studying for a final. I want to take the final now because I'm ready. Let's do it.
Q: What kind of food will you eat?
A: Freeze-dried food, kind of like camping food. We'll have casseroles, meat, rice, a bunch of different kind of food. We have more of an oven where you keep things up. You push the hot-water button. The dietitians come up with proper amount of calories in our food. One day, we rated 100 different kinds of foods to see what we liked.
Q: Are roller coasters really boring now, compared to all the launch and space training?
A: No, you still feel the effects of roller coasters. They're still fun.
Q: When do you head for Cape Canaveral, Fla., to prepare for liftoff?
A: About four days before the launch. We go into quarantine about seven days before the launch to make sure we don't catch any bugs or get sick.
Q: Will come home to visit in San Joaquin County anytime soon?
A: I hope to be back in town in October.
Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.
Jose Hernandez at a glance
Born: Aug. 7, 1962, in French Camp.Education: 1980 graduate of Franklin High School in Stockton; 1985 graduate of University of the Pacific with a degree in electrical engineering; master's degree in electrical and computer engineering in 1986 at University of California, Santa Barbara.
Pre-NASA employment: Helped develop a full-field digital mammography imaging system at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he worked from 1987 to 2001. Also worked with U.S. Department of Energy, where he was part of a negotiating team with Russia to dispose of nuclear material after the U.S.S.R. fell. Going to Russia 20 times in a four-year period, he helped ensure that Soviet materials were not sold on the black market.
Aerospace career: Joined NASA in 2001 and was selected for the space program in 2004 as an astronaut-candidate. Was named a full-fledged astronaut in 2006 and learned in 2008 of his selection for the Discovery space shuttle. Discovery is due to lift off on Aug. 18.
Source: Jose Hernandez, NASA
Jose Hernandez heads foundation
Jose Hernandez helped form a nonprofit organization, Reaching for the Stars, in December 2005 to provide scholarships for public and private school students in San Joaquin County with an interest in science, technology, engineering and math.Hernandez said he has stopped overseeing day-to-day operations of the foundation, although his sister, Leticia Corona, serves on the organization's board of directors.
For more information, visit www.astrojh.com.
Source: Reaching for the Stars
Search for Ads 
Today’s Print Ads 
RSS Feeds
Reader Feedback
Lodian wrote on Jul 6, 2009 11:10 PM:
Lodian wrote on Jul 6, 2009 11:09 PM:
cherryana209 wrote on Jul 6, 2009 1:10 PM:
edumacation wrote on Jul 1, 2009 10:31 AM:
CherryAna209 wrote on Jul 1, 2009 8:31 AM:
edumacation wrote on Jun 30, 2009 5:22 PM:
dogbark wrote on Jun 30, 2009 12:15 PM:
Ross, talk with the editor, I'll redact if these other yo-yos redact. OK? "
dogbark wrote on Jun 30, 2009 12:09 PM:
Is that your green eyed real reason for pointing out the race of Mr Hernandez? That he's made it into NASA inspite of the shackles middle aged white dudes and people like you, his "own people" have tried to slow him down with?
I've met this young astronaut, and he was fascinating to talk with. He doesn't seem to have time to slow down and count the negatives, he reaches for the stars, literally, and more power to him! Being born in French Camp was a brilliant strategy on his part; makes him claimable by the whole central valley as our "local boy makes good!" "
edumacation wrote on Jun 30, 2009 11:54 AM:
CherryAna209 wrote on Jun 30, 2009 9:53 AM:
edumacation wrote on Jun 30, 2009 12:47 AM:
"...What do the numbers sometimes found in gang graffiti mean?..."
"...Frequently, area codes are used to identify gangs:..."
I have never observed another "post" handle with a prominent area code. Therefore the mere absence of the numbers would not conflict with other posters. Verry interesting?
I see the "209" gang graffiti on street signs in Lodi. hhhmmm? "
anthropis wrote on Jun 29, 2009 10:17 PM:
Patricia wrote on Jun 29, 2009 8:41 PM:
sam wrote on Jun 29, 2009 8:17 PM:
Nice job, Jose. "
SJUNE74 wrote on Jun 29, 2009 6:16 PM:
Good for him to follow his dream.
He is Giving back to his Community, which is good not being greedy.
Sounds like he earned him the place not given to him.Doesn't mater he rose above that racial barrier. "
edumacation wrote on Jun 29, 2009 4:48 PM:
LNS QUOTE..."Born: Aug. 7, 1962, in French Camp (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)."
and your comment was "...a negative article about a Mexican people a lot of You guys..." The article was about an AMERICAN, not "...a Mexican people...".
Mr. Hernandez earned his way by substantial effort, hard work and other intelligent contributions to our country.
I see no relationship between your pouting about "...Mexican people" and the accomplishments of REAL AMERICANS such as Mr. Hernandez. Please read the book " Stand and Deliver" by former Bolivian math teacher and later US math teacher, Mr. Jaime Escalanate.
In this book, Mr Escalante stated many time that his students---ALL OF THEM----no matter what race or creed---were not prepared academically. He retired from teaching and moved back to his native Bolivia exasperated by the PC edumactor rhetoric and woefully unprepared students.
Mr Hernandez deserves acknowledgement for his WORK AND SUCCESS. "
weezer wrote on Jun 29, 2009 3:57 PM:
Jose Hernandez at a glance
Born: Aug. 7, 1962, in **French Camp.** "
lodi boy wrote on Jun 29, 2009 3:04 PM:
(by the way, it doesn't say he's Mexican. If he was, then he wouldn't be able to work for NASA) "
weezer wrote on Jun 29, 2009 1:11 PM:
There's a science museum in Lodi that can capitalize on this extremely awesome news for the city's kids.
Way to go, Astronaut Hernandez!
(Btw, if Russians call theirs cosmonauts, is there a Mexican term for astronauts?) "
CherryAna209 wrote on Jun 29, 2009 12:11 PM:
wtf wrote on Jun 29, 2009 6:38 AM:
Comments on this story are now closed.