Veteran NASA astronaut Winston Scott logged a total of 24 days in space and his three spacewalks helped pave the way for the building and maintenance of the International Space Station.
But his path to space is a winding one that started in a segregated school in South Florida, a stop exploring music, the Navy, NASA and more. Scott said his journey to becoming an astronaut was unexpected.
“It wasn't until late in my college career, searching for the proper direction, slowly winding up in naval aviation, and then that led to the astronaut program,” Scott said. “But as a youngster growing up in Miami, I was always interested in the space program and aviation in engineering and technology. But I didn't know what engineering was. In those days, we didn't have programs to introduce us youngsters, especially minority youngsters to it to engineering. I didn't know what engineering was.”
Because of his path to space, Scott said he wishes for the young community to see people of all backgrounds as astronauts. He said that by seeing diversity among astronauts, more people will be inspired to pursue a career in space.
“To me, it was just something I saw on TV or in the movies,” Scott said. “But later on, when I saw the first African American astronauts selected: Guy Bluford, Ron McNair, and so on. Then it became real to me, I say, hey, this can actually happen. So, it's very important to our young people into our society in general, that the world of space exploration reflects everybody in the in the community.
