Linebaugh Public Library is pleased to host Murfreesboro native Dr. Rhea Seddon on Tuesday, November 3, at 7 p.m., as she shares about her new book, Go For Orbit: One of America’s First Women Astronauts Finds Her Space. Dr. Seddon released her book the week prior to her induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in May of this year. She had the privilege of presenting a copy of her memoirs to President Obama for his daughters following the ceremony during a visit to the White House with husband, fellow inductee Capt. Robert “Hoot” Gibson.
Her story begins in a small town in Tennessee, as a young girl stood with her father and gazed at the Russian Sputnik in the night sky. She knew that she was witnessing the beginning of a new era for the human race. Would she play a part? Rhea Seddon was ten years old.
As years went by, humans went off the planet and walked on the moon. The astronauts were men but she felt that would change. At Berkeley in the tumultuous late 1960s, in medical school and a surgery residency she learned that the world no longer belonged solely to males. When NASA announced a selection of new astronauts for the space shuttle program in 1977, she knew: this was her chance.
As one of the first female astronauts in 1978 her quest for space began. But she would do this job her own way, blazing a new path for others to follow.
In 1985 she stood on the launch pad looking up at the rocket that would take her to space and thought: “The fullness of my life has brought me to this moment. All the unlikely roads taken, the risks addressed, the difficulties overcome have led to this. The ride up the clanking rusty elevator which had withstood the blast of Apollo and earlier shuttle flights will be my first upward push today. Across the narrow Orbiter access arm and into the belly of the beast or butterfly the men and I will clamor, brave or feigning bravery, with the bravado of the fighter pilots we are or have come to emulate. We will sit atop the harnessed bomb until its fuse is lit. This is the culmination of years of preparation; there can be no turning back now.”
This book captures the unlikely story of a young girl with a dream whose hard work, perseverance, and willingness to take risks prepared her to become a part of the history of space travel.
Venturing into space on three spectacular missions, working on important projects for NASA, weathering the story of Challenger, marrying a fellow astronaut, and bearing Astrotots, that child who looked skyward long ago is an inspiration to all who aim high to find their own orbit.
Dr. Seddon will be speaking in the 2nd floor Reading Room at Linebaugh. She will be selling and signing copies of her book for $40 each. Cash and credit cards accepted. This event is free and open to the public.
Linebaugh Public Library is located at 105 W. Vine St. in Murfreesboro. Smyrna Public Library is located at 400 Enon Springs Rd. West in Smyrna. Eagleville Bicentennial Public Library is located at 317 Hwy 99E in Eagleville. MGL Library is located inside Patterson Park Community Center at 521 Mercury Blvd. in Murfreesboro. Explore, Imagine, Engage through LPLS. For more information, call 615-893-4131 or visit HYPERLINK “http://www.linebaugh.org” www.linebaugh.org.