Retired NASA astronaut visits Orange to talk about his journey from farmland to outer space

Author: Larry Urish, Staff Writer

A quality education is the source of many life-affirming benefits, motivating students to succeed and providing them with a clear sense of purpose. As the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said: If you give a man a why, he will always find a way.

One starry night in 1972, 10-year-old Jos Hernndez found his why. And all he had to do was stare at the sky.

Throughout his childhood, young Jose traveled throughout central California with his family of farm workers, doing backbreaking labor. Yet through decades of hard work, focus and persistence, this destitute farmhand became a space traveler. Today, retired NASA astronaut Jos Hernandez’s main life goal is simple: to inspire and help people achieve their highest potential in whatever they do.

On March 27, Hernandez visited Santiago Canyon College, hosted by the SCC STEM Success Team and its College Assistance Immigrant Program, which included a screening of the feature film A Million Miles Away, based on Hernandez’s life. Outside,” and his evening speech about his life.

In addition to stargazing, Hernandez’s initial inspiration came from his love of Star Wars and his fascination with NASA’s 1972 Apollo 17 moon landing mission. However, twinkling stars, Captain Kirk, and lunar milestones can only get a poor farmhand so far. Achieving his lofty goals was a daunting task. Hernandez kept stressing that I did not do this alone. It involves a lot of people. My mother taught (my siblings and I) a good work ethic and study habits, and my father made us realize that school was a priority. He used to point to the fields and say, this is your future unless you get an education.

Jose Hernandez said his father, Salvador, also gave the Hernandez children a five-step secret to success: Define your life purpose. Recognize how far you are from this goal. Draw yourself a road map from where you are now to where you want to be. Be prepared based on the challenge. and develop a work ethic that is second to none.

Hernandez earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of the Pacific and a master’s degree in signals and systems engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Hernandez worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for 15 years starting in 1987. X-ray laser technology. He and a colleague later applied this technology to the early detection of breast cancer, saving many lives.

“This is my proudest professional moment,” Hernandez said of digital mammography technology. This is a greater achievement than going into space.

However, getting into space remains a distant dream. Hernandez applied to NASA’s Astronaut Candidate Program 11 times and was rejected each time until he was finally accepted in May 2004.

That persistence pointed to his own sixth ingredient, added to his father’s five-step recipe for success: Persistence. Never give up on yourself.

Hernandez again emphasized that his success was not an individual effort, explaining how one day he crumpled up his sixth NASA rejection letter and threw it into the wastebasket. Hernandez said, “My wife found the crumpled letter because I missed the trash can and she encouraged me to hold on.”

He said that if that discarded rejection letter had been thrown into the wastebasket, she would have thrown it away and I would have given up. My wife is very picky. She was a cheerleader through the entire process.

After years of rigorous training, Hernandez’s lifelong dream came true on August 28, 2009, when he and his STS-128 crew aboard the Discovery space shuttle entered orbit and docked with the International Space Station.

“We went from zero to 17,500 miles per hour in eight minutes,” Hernandez told the Santiago Canyon College audience. In 14 days, he and his fellow NASA members transferred 7 tons of new equipment to the International Space Station and orbited the Earth 217 times, traveling more than 5.7 million miles.

Although Hernandez retired from NASA in January 2011, he was anything but the retired type. He noted that in addition to being a gubernatorial appointee to the UC Board of Trustees, he is the founder and CEO of Tierra Luna Engineering, the author of three books, including the 2012 memoir “Reaching for the Stars,” and the owner of Tierra Luna Wine cellar vineyards and wineries. And, as the hundreds of people who visited the SCC during his last month attested, he’s also an extremely effective motivational speaker.

Hernandez concluded his speech by emphasizing to the audience that it’s okay to dream big. Through education and hard work, you can reach the stars. I am living proof.