By Richard Tew
The Post Newspaper Contributing Writer
NASA Astronaut Steve Bowen embarked on a career at the storied space program when space shuttle flights were a common occurrence; his first in 2008. After four flights to the space station. his perspective both from earth and outer space has been broadened. Recently, he reflected on his journey while also encouraging the next generation of space explorers to start theirs.
Bowden, 60, says he took an interest in space at a very young age and remembers looking up at the sky to see America’s first crewed space station, Skylab, which was used from 1973-1979.
“I’m old enough that I actually watched Neil Armstrong step onto the surface of the Moon on July 20, 1969,” said Bowen. “I was pretty young then, so the concept of becoming an astronaut seemed completely far-fetched.”
After high school, Bowen entered service in the Navy, where he was a part of a submarine crew and eventually earned the rank of captain. While still in the Navy, Bowen also earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and a Master’s Degree in Ocean Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
While in the Navy, Bowen decided to apply for the astronaut training program. He said he was surprised when he received a call for an interview.
“I never thought I would be an astronaut,” said Bowden “Being selected was quite amazing. It’s sorta the childhood dream come true that you never thought you’d do.”
Bowen started his training at the Johnson Space Center in 2000. Once he finished the mandatory two year astronaut training course, Bowen found himself on the Space Shuttle. He would log three trips to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the now-retired Space Shuttle Discovery in 2011; its final mission.
Bowen says there are similarities working onboard both a submarine and the International Space Station: each is potentially dangerous, very busy and very structured.
“The job itself is completely different but the environment is very much the same,” he said.
Some 13 years after his last Shuttle mission, Bowen would find himself logging his fourth mission to the ISS flying on a SpaceX Crew Dragon rocket called “Endeavor.”
Comparing the new SpaceX rocket to the now-retired Space Shuttle, Bowen says both vehicles were built for very different missions.
“The Space Shuttle was built to build a space station…it was a pickup truck,” said Bowen. “We carried a lot of hardware into space. We carried whole modules into space.”
The SpaceX rocket era is different, Bowen said.
“The Dragon vehicle, along with the Boeing CST-100 (Starliner) were designed from the beginning to safely take people to low Earth orbit,” said Bowen.
Another difference Bowen notes is automation. He says the Dragon spacecraft basically flies itself.
When Bowen was again selected for a mission in March of 2023, he was assigned the role of commander of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission flight up the the ISS.
Bowen and his crew landed back on Earth some seven months later in October 2023,
To date, Bowen has logged 226 days, 8 hours and 43 minutes in space and has performed 10 spacewalks totaling 65 hours and 57 minutes.
After four missions, Bowen says when he looks up towards the sky and sees the ISS streak by at a blistering 17,500 mph, he smiles and thinks about the experience they and only a handful of others have ever experienced.
“When I look up and I see the space station and think about the crew members on board, I get a bit of a smile because I know how much they are enjoying their experience,” said Bowen. “It really is a unique place to have been. I think that is what I get, that little bit of like ‘I had the opportunity to have been there.’”
Along his journey in both the Navy and with NASA, Bowen credits his interest in both Math and Science as helping him accomplish his dream to be an astronaut.
Bowen’s advice for the next generation of would-be astronauts is to apply and give it a shot. He notes many astronauts were told “no” several times and kept applying and some were eventually hired. He also suggests candidates be able to articulate the reasons why their skills and experiences would benefit the program and its mission if they find themselves in front of an interview panel.
“I encourage everybody to apply,” said Bowen. “The worst we can say is “no,” then apply again!”
Photo cutline: NASA Astronaut Steve Bowen. Courtesy of NASA.
