OKLAHOMANS HAVE A PIONEER SPIRIT THAT HAS ALWAYS PUSHED THEM TO MOVE FORWARD INTO UNKNOWN TERRITORY.

WHEN AMERICANS STEPPED INTO THE NEW FRONTIER OF SPACE OKLAHOMANS WERE AT THE FOREFRONT.

>>OKLAHOMA HAS A DISTINCTION OF HAVING AN ASTRONAUT IN EVERY PHASE OF THE SPACE PROGRAM.

>>BACK ON EARTH, ENGINEERS AND MATHEMATICIANS' FROM OKLAHOMA THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE TO SEND THOSE ASTRONAUTS TO THE MOON AND GET THEM BACK ALIVE.

THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN BUILT AMERICA'S SPACE PROGRAM FROM SCRATCH AND OPENED A NEW ERA FOR OKLAHOMA'S SPACE PIONEERS.

>>IN 1957, WHEN THE RUSSIANS SEND SPUTNIK INTO SPACE, SUDDENLY PANIC IN AMERICA, THE RUSSIANS ARE BEATING US INTO SPACE.

THEY WILL BE ABLE TO LAUNCH NUCLEAR WEAPONS FROM SPACE; WE'VE GOT TO GET INTO THE RACE.

AND SO STARTING IN THE LATE 50S, AMERICA PUTS NEW RESOURCES INTO GOING INTO SPACE.

WELL, WHO IS THERE IN A LEADERSHIP GROUP IN WASHINGTON DC?

YOU HAVE A ROBERT S KERR, "KING OF THE SENATE."

>>THEY NEEDED A LOT OF ENGINEERS AT THE SPACE CRAFT CENTER IN HOUSTON BEING BUILT.

SO THE CALL WENT OUT FOR ENGINEERS.

IN OKLAHOMA THAT INCLUDED SEVERAL FROM SOUTHWESTERN STATE COLLEGE FROM WEATHERFORD, NOW SOUTHWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR FROM THERE, HIS NAME WAS PRATT AND HIS STUDENTS WERE ENCOURAGED BY HIM.

TO CONSIDER THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA AT THAT TIME WAS CENTRAL STATE COLLEGE ALSO HAD A PROFESSOR IN PHYSICS.

REFERRED A LOT OF HIS STUDENTS DOWN THERE.

>>WE JUST APPLIED AND GOT A COUPLE OF OFFERS.

GOT ONE OFFER IN MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER, AND ONE IN HUNTSVILLE.

SO I TOOK THE ONE AT MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER.

THERE WERE SEVERAL OF US OVER A TWO OR THREE YEAR PERIOD, AND I KNOW FIVE OR SIX OF US WAS IN THE CONTROL CENTER.

OTHERS WERE IN THE SIMULATION BRANCH, OR WHAT WE CALLED MPAD - MISSION PLANNING AND ANALYSIS, SO WE HAD PRETTY GOOD IMPACT ON THE FLIGHT CONTROL PART DOWN THERE.

>>ENGINEER JERRY ELLIOTT GRADUATED FROM OU, WENT TO WORK ON THE MERCURY PROGRAM, AND STAYED WITH NASA ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO WORKING ON THE DESIGN TEAM FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

>>THEY LOVED OUR OKLAHOMA ENGINEERS AND MISSION CONTROL BECAUSE THESE GUYS GREW UP ON THE FARM, WHERE YOU DIDN'T HAVE REPAIRMEN AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE A STORE AROUND THE CORNER.

THEY HAD TO REPAIR THINGS WITH BALING WIRE, OUT THERE ON-SITE AND GET IT WORKING AND GET IT GOING.

AND THEY CARRIED THAT OVER TO THEIR WORK IN MISSION CONTROL.

>>IT WAS AN INTERESTING WORK ENVIRONMENT, I GUESS.

IT WAS A LOT OF YOUNG ENGINEERS AND PERSONNEL COMING TOGETHER FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

IT WAS A CONTINUAL TIME OF REORGANIZING BECAUSE THEY WERE EXPANDING SO MUCH GETTING READY FOR THE GEMINI PROGRAM AND THE APOLLO PROGRAM BOTH, REALLY, AT THE SAME TIME.

>>AFTER A RIGOROUS SEARCH, SEVEN MEN WERE SELECTED TO BE AMERICA'S MERCURY ASTRONAUTS.

GORDON COOPER, A TEST PILOT FROM SHAWNEE WAS ONE OF THEM.

>>HIS FATHER WAS A PILOT.

HE TOOK GORDON UP WHEN HE WAS YOUNG.

THAT GAVE HIM HIS LOVE FOR FLYING, IN FACT HE FLEW BEFORE HE DROVE A CAR.

HE BECAME ONE OF THE ORIGINAL SOUTHERN MERCURY ASTRONAUTS AND THAT WAS HUGE IN THE LATE 50'S.

THESE WERE THE GUYS THAT WERE GOING TO TAKE ON THE SOVIET UNION.

GORDON COOPER FROM OKLAHOMA WAS ONE OF THEM.

>>COOPER WAS THE YOUNGEST OF THE MERCURY ASTRONAUTS AND ON MAY 15, 1963, THE MAN THEY CALLED "GORDO" FLEW FARTHER AND FASTER THAN ANYONE BEFORE AND WAS THE LAST AMERICAN TO GO INTO SPACE ALONE.

"ROGER AND LIFTOFF AND THE CLOCK IS OPERATING ITS'S FAITH-7 ALL THE WAY" >>I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS TIME TO SAY A LITTLE PRAYER TO ALL THE PEOPLE THANK YOU FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF ME BEING IN THIS SITUATION, BEING IN THIS WONDROUS PLACE SEEING ALL THESE STARTLING AND ALL THESE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU'VE CREATED, COMFORTING ALL OUR FAMILIES, LETTING THEM KNOW WE'LL ALL BE OKAY.

>>AFTER THE MERCURY PROGRAM GORDON COOPER FLEW IN THE GEMINI PROGRAM.

GEMINI 5 THE FIRST BREAKOUT MISSION FOR THE UNITED STATES.

EVERYTHING WE HAD DONE UP TO THAT POINT THE SOVIET UNION HAD ALREADY DONE.

BUT THAT MISSION STAYED IN SPACE EIGHT DAYS.

SO IT WAS THE LONGEST FLIGHT OF ANY FLIGHT.

IT PROVED MAN COULD GO INTO SPACE AND GO TO THE MOON AND COME BACK WAS THE PURPOSE OF IT.

>>THERE WAS ANOTHER OKLAHOMA ASTRONAUT WORKING IN THE GEMINI PROGRAM, TOM STAFFORD, WHO GREW UP ON A FARM NEAR WEATHERFORD.

>>I READ COMIC BOOKS ABOUT BUCK ROGERS, FLASH GORDON, BUT I AIN'T NEVER THOUGHT ANYTHING ABOUT THAT.

BUT EVERY DAY, THREE OR FOUR OF THESE BIG SILVER AIRPLANES WOULD COME DOWN ROUTE 66, AND THAT WAS THE FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL ROUTE, FOR TWA AND AMERICAN AIRLINES.

AS A LITTLE BOY, 5 OR 6 YEARS OLD, I WOULD LOOK UP AND SAY "I WANNA DO THAT, I WANNA FLY."

>>TOM STAFFORD WHOSE MOTHER CAME AN AMERICAN HERO, TOM, SERVING HIS COUNTRY IN THE ARMED SERVICES AS A JET FIGHTER PILOT APPLIES FOR THE ASTRONAUT SCHOOL, HE IS ACCEPTED AND IS THERE FROM THE EARLY DAYS DURING MERCURY.

>>STAFFORD WAS IN THE SECOND GROUP OF ASTRONAUTS ALONG WITH NEIL ARMSTRONG, BUZZ ALDRIN, JIM LOVELL AND WALLY SCHIRRA.

IN THE GEMINI PROGRAM, THEY WOULD DEVELOP AND TEST ALL THE PROCEDURES NEEDED TO LAND ON THE MOON.

>>WHEN YOU LOOK AT STAFFORD'S CONTRIBUTIONS, THEY ARE AMAZING.

I'VE ALWAYS SAID THAT HE REALLY IS MR.

RENDEZVOUS BECAUSE IN HIS FIRST GEMINI FLIGHT WITH WALLY SCHIRRA IN GEMINI 6, THEY PERFORMED THE VERY FIRST RENDEZVOUS IN SPACE.

>>SPACE DOCKING, THE FIRST SPACEWALKS ALL OF THE THINGS YOU HAD TO BE ABLE TO DO TO GO TO THE APOLLO SYSTEM.

WHERE YOU HAD STAGED ROCKET AND THEN A COMMAND MODULE AND THEN RELEASING THE POD TO GO DOWN TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON.

YOU HAD TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK UP IN DOC AGAIN IN SPACE.

>>SENATOR ROBERT S. KERR FROM OKLAHOMA WAS THE CHAIR OF THE SENATE SPACE COMMITTEE.

HE SAW TO IT THAT OKLAHOMA CONTRACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO THE APOLLO PROGRAM.

THE LARGEST BEING NORTH AMERICAN, THEN LOCATED IN THE OLD WORLD WAR II DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT PLANT NEAR THE TULSA AIRPORT.

>>PART OF THE SATURN FIVE THAT WAS BUILT IN TULSA WAS THE COVERING ON THE TOP OF THE ROCKET FOR THE LUNAR MODULE.

AND LATER ON IN THE SAME FACILITY THAT NORTH AMERICAN BUILT THE SATURN 5 COMPONENTS, THE DOORS FOR THE SPACE SHUTTLE WERE PRODUCED AND A LOT OF GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT WAS BUILT IN TULSA.

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF THE SPACE PROGRAM AND STILL IS.

>>STAFFORD SAID EVERY TIME HE PUT ON HIS SPACE HELMET, HE REMEMBERED A FELLOW OKLAHOMAN WHO MADE SPACE FLIGHT POSSIBLE.

IN 1934, WILEY POST CAME UP WITH A PLAN TO FLY TO 55,000 FEET FOR THE FIRST TIME.

AT THAT ALTITUDE PRESSURE CHANGES WILL MAKE THE PILOT BLACK OUT.

POST SAID "HOW ABOUT WE PRESSURIZE A SUIT WITHIN THE AIRPLANE?"

WHEN WILEY BOLTED A DIVING HELMET TO A RUBBER BLADDER TO HOLD THE AIR IN, HE DIDN'T KNOW IT, BUT HE HAD JUST INVENTED SPACE SUIT.

TOM STAFFORD COMMANDED THE APOLLO 10 MISSION WITH CALL SIGN "SNOOPY."

IT WAS THE ONLY MISSION WHERE EVERY MEMBER OF THE CREW HAD FLOWN IN SPACE BEFORE, THE MISSION WOULD SORT OUT ALL THE UNKNOWNS TO PAVE THE WAY FOR THE LUNAR LANDING.

>>THEY TOOK FILM , PHOTOS, THEY MAPPED IT, THEY JUST LAID IT OUT OR AS JEAN CERTAIN SAID, "THEY PAINTED A WHITE STRIPE ON THE MOON, AND ALL THE NEIL AND BUZZ HAD TO DO WAS FOLLOW THAT WHITE STRIPE DOWN."

>>UNFORTUNATELY, IT SEEMED TO HAVE EVAPORATED BY THE TIME I GOT THERE AND I COULDN'T FIND THE WHITE STRIPE, BUT THE PICTURES THEY HAD TAKEN SHOWED ME JUST WHERE THE WHITE STRIPE HAD BEEN HAD HAVE LASTED THAT LONG.

>>I FLEW THE FIRST LUNAR MODULE TO THE MOON, AND WE KNEW IT WAS TOO HEAVY TO LAND, SO MY JOB WAS TO GO DOWN TO NINE MILES PHOTO MAP, RADAR MAP, VISUALLY LOOK AT IT.

PICK OUT AN ELLIPSE AND THREE POTENTIAL LANDING SITES, WHICH I DID.

DO THE FIRST RUN, DO ALL THE PROCEDURES AND THEN MAYBE THE NEXT ONE MIGHT GET A CHANCE, OR MAYBE THE NEXT ONE AFTER THAT.

SO NEIL ARMSTRONG'S A GREAT FRIEND OF MINE, I REMEMBER I GAVE HIM THIS BIG STACK OF PROCEDURES, SAID, "BUDDY, HERE YOU ARE.

HOPEFULLY YOU CAN GO THE LAST 47,000 FEET DOWN, AND FROM THE SURFACE.

47,000 FEET UP.

THE REST OF IT - HERE IT IS, IT'S ALL DONE.

>>ON JULY 20TH, 1969, THE APOLLO 11 LANDING CRAFT SKIMMED THE LUNAR SURFACE, ENGINEERS JERRY ELLIOTT AND TOM WEICHEL HAD A FRONT ROW SEAT AT MISSION CONTROL.

>>I WASN'T REALLY ON DUTY AT THE MOMENT, I WAS JUST IN THERE.

OF COURSE, MOST ALL OF US WERE IN THERE, WHETHER WE WERE ON AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME OR NOT.

WHEN WE GOT DOWN TO THAT POINT, WE WERE RUNNING REAL LOW ON FUEL, BECAUSE HE HAD TO TAKE OVER MANUALLY, FLY A LITTLE DOWN RANGE, BEFORE HE GOT FREE OF SOME BOULDERS AND SO FORTH.

WE WERE MENTALLY MARKING DOWN HOW MUCH FUEL TIME HE HAD LEFT, THE LAST CALL WAS LIKE THIRTY SECONDS.

AND OF COURSE, HE LANDED SHORTLY AFTER THAT.

BUT WE WERE JUST ALL HOLDING OUR BREATH, NOT KNOWING EXACTLY WHERE WE WERE AT.

>>TRANQUILITY BASE HERE, THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.

>>IT WAS AN EXCITING MOMENT BUT IT WAS SO ANTICIPATED THAT I GUESS, THE GUYS LIKE WE WERE SITTING IN THERE JUST WORKING THE SHIFT.

YEAH, WE HAD A JOB TO DO.

SO IT PROBABLY DIDN'T IMPACT US AS MUCH AS SOMEBODY ELSE TO SAY "WOW, WE LANDED ON THE MOON."

BECAUSE WE KNEW WE WERE GONNA LAND ON THE MOON.

>>THE TRIUMPH OF APOLLO NEARLY TURNED TO TRAGEDY WHEN AN EXPLOSION TORE THROUGH THE APOLLO 13 SERVICE MODULE.

FRED HAISE, A GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, WAS ON BOARD.

>>THERE WAS THIS LOUD BANG SOUND REVERBERATING THROUGH THE HULL OF THE SPACECRAFT, IT WAS A METAL HULL, LIKE A BIG TIN CAN AND THAT SOME OF THAT SOUND RICOCHETS THROUGH THE STRUCTURE AND I DRIFTED UPWARD TO GET BACK IN THE COMMAND MODULE.

JIM HAD ALREADY BEEN IN THE TUNNEL AND WAS UP IN THE COMMAND MODULE OR DOWN IN THE COMMAND MODULE HOWEVER YOU WANT TO LOOK AT IT.

THE MOTHERSHIP.

I STARTED MY WAY THERE AND THE ACTUAL STRUCTURE WAS DIMPLING IN THE TUNNEL AREA BETWEEN THE TWO VEHICLES FROM THE EXPLOSION I GUESS ENOUGH PROPULSIVE THE FACT IT CAUSED MOTION IN THE COMMAND SERVICE MODULE SUFFICIENT THAT IT WAS CAUSING A TWISTING MOTION IN THE TUNNEL WHERE THE TWO VEHICLES WERE CONNECTED.

>>IT COULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED AT A MORE INOPPORTUNE TIME TO TRY TO ABORT.

WE WERE JUST AT THE MOON'S SPHERE OF INFLUENCE THERE, SO WE LOOKED AT THAT SITUATION.

IT'S HARD TO VISUALIZE THE TEAMWORK THAT WENT ON BENEATH THE FLIGHT DIRECTORS AND SO FORTH.

WHEN I CAME IN IT WAS CLOSE TO SHIFT CHANGE TIME, AND I TOOK OVER A LITTLE BIT EARLY, BECAUSE I HAD A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO LOOK AT THE PROBLEMS, WHAT WAS GOING ON.

WHEN YOU'RE SITTING RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHAOS IT'S HARD TO GET A GRASP ON THINGS.

WHEN I TOOK OVER, MY COUNTERPART DIDN'T GO ANYWHERE, HE WAS JUST SITTING THERE WORKING FOR ME.

IT'S KIND OF A MAGICAL THING WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AS TEAMWORK IN THERE.

>>WORKING THROUGH THE PROBLEMS PAID OFF IN THE THRILL OF SEEING THE PARACHUTES ABOVE THE CAPSULE >>ON APOLLO 14 WE HAD AN OKLAHOMAN FROM CLAREMORE, OKLAHOMA, STUART ROOSA.

AND RUSSO WAS THE COMMAND MODULE PILOT, HE STAYED IN THERE WHILE ALAN SHEPARD AND ED MITCHELL AND LANDED AND WALKED ON THE MOON.

THIS MISSION ACTUALLY CARRIED OUT THE MISSION OF APOLLO 13 THAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE PRIOR TO THAT.

>>OWEN GARRIOTT FROM ENID FLEW ON THE SKYLAB THREE MISSION IN 1973, HE AND HIS CREW DOUBLED THE RECORD OF TIME SPENT IN SPACE, ORBITING FOR 60 DAYS.

>>OWEN GARRIOT FROM ENID, OKLAHOMA WAS AMONG THE FIRST GROUP OF SCIENTIST ASTRONAUTS.

OWEN FLEW ON SKYLAB AND THE SHUTTLE AND ON THE SHUTTLE; HE FLEW IN THE FIRST MISSION OF THE SPACE LAB WHICH WAS A SCIENTIFIC LAB THAT WAS CARRIED IN THE BACK OF THE SHUTTLE.

HIS WORK ON SKYLAB WAS AMAZING AND HE DID SOME SPACEWALKS ON THAT MISSION.

AND THAT WAS FOLLOWED UP ON THE NEXT MISSION BY BILL POGUE WHO WAS BORN IN OKEMAH, OKLAHOMA, HE CONSIDERED SAND SPRINGS HOME.

AND HE FLEW THE LONGEST MISSION ON THE THIRD SKYLAB MISSION.

>>I THOUGHT I WAS REALLY VERY FORTUNATE, IT WAS THE HALCYON DAYS OF SPACE, I MEAN PEOPLE REALLY WORKED THEIR BUTTS OFF.

THEY WORKED A LOT LONGER OUT HOURS AND THEY WERE EVER PAID FOR, BUT IT WAS SO MUCH FUN, IT WAS EXCITING.

>>TOM STAFFORD TOOK OFF AGAIN FOR A HISTORIC MOMENT OF COOPERATION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COLD WAR.

>> IN 1975 HE COMMANDED THE APOLLO-SOYUZ MISSION, WHICH WAS THE VERY FIRST MISSION WHERE THE SOVIET UNION AND AMERICA LINKED UP FOR A JOINT MISSION IN SPACE.

SO THAT WAS THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL RENDEZVOUS IN SPACE.

>>HERE WAS MY DEAR FRIEND ALEXEI LEONOV I SAW THE FACE OF TOM STAFFORD SMILE AND I KNEW EVERYTHING WAS OKAY.

AND WE BOTH PUT OUR HANDS TOGETHER AND IT WAS THE FAMOUS HANDSHAKE IN SPACE.

NOT ONLY DID YOU HAVE TWO PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER, BUT IT WAS THE SYMBOL OF OUR TWO COUNTRIES WORKING TOGETHER.

>>NOT ALL OF OKLAHOMA'S ASTRONAUTS ARE MEN.

>>SHANNON LUCID WAS NOT BORN IN OKLAHOMA, HER PARENTS WERE MISSIONARIES AND SO SHE WAS BORN IN CHINA, AS JOHN HARRINGTON CALLS HER, "THE FIRST CHINESE ASTRONAUT."

BUT SHE WAS BORN IN CHINA DURING WORLD WAR II.

SO THEY WERE PRISONERS OF WAR AT THE TIME AND THEN WHEN THEIR TIME WAS OVER THEY CAME BACK HOME TO BETHANY, OKLAHOMA SHE GREW UP IN BETHANY.

>>LUCID JOINED THE CREW OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY AS A SCIENTIST IN 1985, SHE RETURNED IN 1989, 1991 AND 1993.

>>PROBABLY HER MOST SIGNIFICANT MISSION WAS ON THE MIR SPACE STATION THAT THE RUSSIANS HAD PUT OUT.

THIS WAS TO BE THE UNITED STATES TEST IN WORKING TOWARDS BUILDING THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, TO SEE HOW THAT WOULD WORK TOGETHER WORKING WITH THE RUSSIANS AND STAYING IN SPACE WORKING ON THE SPACE STATION WITH THEM.

SHANNON SET THE RECORD AT THE TIME FOR THE LONGEST STAY IN SPACE.

>>AFTER I GOT BACK FROM MIR, THEN I WAS AWARDED THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR AND IT WAS, AND I THOUGHT THAT WASN'T JUST ME, IT WAS THE WHOLE PROGRAM.

THAT IT WAS JUST A WAY OF ACKNOWLEDGING THAT, WOW THIS IS REALLY A HARD THING THAT NASA IS DOING AND THAT NASA IS DOING A GOOD JOB WORKING WITH THE RUSSIANS AND GETTING THINGS WORKING THAT WAY.

>>SPACE SHUTTLE ASTRONAUT JOHN HERRINGTON WAS BORN IN WETUMKA.

AS A KID, HE WATCHED THE MOON LANDINGS ON TV, ASTRONAUTS WERE HIS HEROES.

>>I PLAYED AS A KID.

I MEAN BACK IN THE 60'S THE SPACE PROGRAM WAS IN FULL SWING AND I USED TO SIT IN A CARDBOARD BOX AND DREAM I WAS GOING TO THE MOON.

BUT I DIDN'T PURSUE IT AS A CAREER UNTIL I WAS IN THE NAVY AND REALIZED I WAS DOING THE EXACT SAME THING THAT THE PEOPLE I HAD ADMIRED BACK IN THE 60'S HAD DONE, TO BECOME ASTRONAUTS.

AND SO, THE DREAM I HAD AS A KID WAS NOW A REALITY.

>>AS AN ENROLLED MEMBER OF THE CHICKASAW TRIBE, HERRINGTON IS THE FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN TO FLY IN SPACE.

ON NOVEMBER 23, 2002 HE TOOK OFF ABOARD THE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR TO HELP BUILD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

>>WELL, IT'S ROUGHLY THREE HOURS AFTER THEY STRAP YOU IN AND THEY CLOSE THE HATCH BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY LAUNCH.

SO INSIDE OF T-MINUS NINE... GOES LIKE THAT, AND YOU'RE FOCUSED ON WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO AND WHAT YOU HAVE TO MONITOR.

AND THE VEHICLE COMES ALIVE, IT'S REALLY REMARKABLE.

AND THAT'S WHEN, THAT THIRTY SECONDS BEFORE LAUNCH I WENT "I'M GOING!"

AT T-MINUS ZERO, SOLIDS LIGHT, KICK IN THE PANTS AND OFF YOU GO.

IT'S LIKE BEING IN THE BACK OF A PICKUP TRUCK ON A BUMPY DIRT ROAD IN OKLAHOMA.

IT'S A BUMPY RIDE FOR ABOUT TWO MINUTES.

THE SOLIDS BURN - ONCE YOU TURN EM' ON, ONCE YOU LIGHT THEM, YOU CAN'T SHUT THEM OFF.

THEY BURN A LOT OF VIBRATIONS THROUGH THE VEHICLE, IT SHAKES A LOT.

AFTER ABOUT TWO MINUTES, THEY'RE EXPENDED AND THEY FALL AWAY, AND THEN IT BECOMES A VERY SMOOTH RIDE.

IT'S LIKE HOPPING OFF THE DIRT ROAD ONTO A NICE EXPRESSWAY, ELECTRIC TRAIN RIDE, THEY CALL IT.

ONCE I GOT TO SPACE, MY JOB WAS TO SPACEWALK, AND TRANSFER CARGO, SO ONE DAY WE, WE WOULD SPACE WALK AND THE NEXT WE WOULD TRANSFER CARGO.

REALLY, REALLY BUSY, BUT MY PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY WAS TO HELP ASSEMBLE AND REMOVE LAUNCH LOCKS OFF THE TRUSS WE INSTALLED ON THE SPACE STATION.

YOU STOP EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE AND SAY, "HA!

THAT'S THE BAHAMAS."

YOU TAKE IN THAT THIS IS A PLACE YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE, AND NOW YOU'RE THERE, AND YOU BURN THAT IMAGE INTO YOUR MIND.

>>DONNA SHIRLEY OF WYNNEWOOD LOOKED A LITTLE FARTHER INTO SPACE.

AN ADVISOR AT OU TOLD HER THAT, "GIRLS CAN'T BE ENGINEERS," BUT WHEN SHE JOINED THE JET PROPULSION LAB, SHE WAS THE ONLY WOMAN AMONG THE 2,000 ENGINEERS WHO HAD AN ENGINEERING DEGREE.

SHE WAS THE PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE MARINER 10 MISSION TO VENUS AND MERCURY.

SHE WAS THE MARS EXPLORATION PROGRAM MANAGER, AND LED TEAMS FOR MARS PATHFINDER AND THE SOJOURNER ROVER.

DR.

BEN CLARK TRAINED AS A BIOPHYSICIST AND LED THE UNIT ANALYZING MARTIAN SOIL SAMPLES DURING BOTH VIKING MISSIONS IN 1976 AND THE THREE MARS ROVER MISSIONS.

CONSTRUCTION HAS STARTED ON A 20,000-SQUARE-FOOT ADDITION AT THE STAFFORD AIR & SPACE MUSEUM IN WEATHERFORD.

THE $5.4 MILLION PROJECT WILL ADD ROOM FOR A LUNAR SPACE MODULE AND A STEALTH FIGHTER JET.

THE MUSEUM STANDS AS A TRIBUTE TO STAFFORD AND ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SHARED THE BRAVERY AND DESIRE TO PUSH MANKIND FURTHER INTO SPACE.

>>WELL, THIS IS QUITE A FACILITY, AND ESPECIALLY FOR WESTERN OKLAHOMA.

AND I THINK SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AND THE MUSEUM NEED TO BE WORKING TOGETHER TO GET ALL OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS TO COME VISIT, AND SEE THE OPPORTUNITIES.

GET THEM INTERESTED IN TECHNOLOGY AND SO FORTH.

>>A NEW GENERATION LOOKS TO THE STARS AND PREPARES AS NASA, AND NOW PRIVATE COMPANIES, PUT TOGETHER PLANS TO RETURN TO THE MOON AND LAUNCH A MANNED MISSION TO MARS.

>>WELL, IT'S ABOUT TIME.

IT SEEMS LIKE AFTER WE LANDED ON THE MOON, THE PUBLIC KINDA LOST INTEREST.

WE HAD THE SHUTTLE OF COURSE, BUT THAT SEEMED TO BE ROUTINE AND ANTICLIMACTIC OR SOMETHING.

AND I THINK NOW THERE'S INTEREST IN GOING BEYOND, SOME INTEREST IN STARTING TO WORK ON THE MARS MISSION.

THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO GO.

>>BACK IN THE 60'S WHEN WE WERE GROWING UP, THERE WERE TWO REASONS TO FLY IN SPACE, POLITICAL OR COMMERCIAL.

IF IT'LL MAKE MONEY, SOMEBODY WILL DO IT, AND IF THERE'S A POLITICAL REASON, SOMEONE WILL DO IT.

>>OKLAHOMA IS A LAND OF PIONEERS, AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE EARLY ASTRONAUTS, THEY HAD A DIRECT CONNECTION TO THEIR ANCESTORS WHO HAD SETTLED OKLAHOMA, SO THAT PIONEER SPIRIT IS INHERENT.

AND LET'S FACE IT, IT FLOWS THROUGH THE BLOOD OF EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN BORN AND GREW UP HERE.

>>WE'VE HAD A FEW PIONEERS WHO HAVE BEEN THERE, WE MAY NOT HAVE THE GREATEST NUMBERS, BUT WE HAVE THAT COMBINATION OF THE RIGHT STUFF, THE PEOPLE LIKE TOM STAFFORD WHO WERE DEDICATED TO PUBLIC SERVICE, WHO WERE INNOVATORS, WHO HAD A MATHEMATICAL BACKGROUND AND COULD APPLY IT TO FLIGHT AND APPLY IT TO SPACE.

WORKING AS A TEAM TO PUT TOGETHER A PLAN TO ACHIEVE AND OVERCOME SETBACKS, TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE PUBLIC AND SUPPORT US.

ALL OF THIS IS PART OF AMERICANS IN SPACE AND OKLAHOMANS HAVE HAD A VERY STRONG ROLE IN THAT.

>>ANY ADVICE YOU'D HAVE FOR YOUNG DREAMERS TODAY?

>>SURE, STUDY HARD.

DREAM BIG, STUDY HARD.

>>WE WERE RISK TAKERS.

DIDN'T MIND THE CHALLENGE AND A LOT OF HARD WORK.

AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT MADE A LOT OF THE PEOPLE FROM OKLAHOMA VERY SUCCESSFUL IN THE SPACE PROGRAM.

>>WITH ONLY THEIR SKILLS, INTELLECT AND DETERMINATION, OKLAHOMA'S ASTRONAUTS PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE.

WITH EACH MISSION, THEY STRETCHED THE REACH OF MANKIND'S FINGERTIPS EVER CLOSER TO HEAVEN.

AS AMERICANS MOVE OUT AMONG THE PLANETS AND SET DOWN UPON A ROCKY PLAIN, PLANTED FIRM INTO THE DUST WILL BE THE FOOTPRINTS OF OKLAHOMA'S SPACE PIONEERS.

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