The stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Houston, especially when the star is the space shuttle Endeavor. History was made at 7:14 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2000, when, from their orbit around the Earth, the Endeavor crew contacted RODEOHOUSTON™. The Rodeo crowd received this bonus on the night of Jo Dee Messina's performance, when the crew of the STS-99 Mission appeared in the Astrodome via a live audio and video feed from space.

The official purpose of Endeavor's flight was a shuttle radar topography mission, which used radar instruments to collect data for the most detailed, near-global topographic map of the Earth ever made. At the time of the broadcast, the Endeavor was flying over the West Coast of the United States with an international crew of six rodeo fans aboard.

The Johnson Space Center exhibit fascinated Show fans with displays that included a spacesuit and a computerized shuttle-docking game.

This crew included Cmdr. Kevin Kregel, pilot Dom Gorie and four payload specialists: Americans Janet Kavandi and Janice Voss, Japanese Mamoru Mohri and German Gerhard Thiele. These six astronauts became rodeo fans when they lived and trained in Houston for their mission and experienced the unique culture of Texas. They took a shine to being "naturalized Texans," especially German-born Thiele. While training in 1993, Thiele arrived at a party dressed as a Texan. As soon as he walked through the door, someone shouted, "Hey, Hoss." From that moment on, Thiele traded his Alpine cap for a cowboy hat and went by the nickname "Hoss."

The broadcast to the Dome began with Kregel calling out to Rodeo fans, "Welcome aboard the space shuttle Endeavor traveling 125 nautical miles above the Earth." After Kregel established contact with the Dome, color announcer Bill Bailey talked with the crew. Bailey first joked with Hoss and then asked Kavandi how the mission was going. She responded, "Actually we have been quite pleased with the progress of the mapping so far. We have got over 90 percent of our goal of the Earth's surface mapped. We have about a day and a half left to get the rest of it done. We are very optimistic that we'll have all of that completed by the end of tomorrow night."

Kavandi and the rest of the crew have every right to be proud of the tremendously successful STS-99 Mission. The 11-day flight mapped about 47.6 million square miles of the planet's surface, covering 99.958 percent of the planned mapping area at least once. After returning to Florida, Kregel, jubilant from his crew's success, said, "That's an A+ on anybody's report card, so we're really pleased with the outcome of this mission."

Ever mindful of the main purpose of the Show, Bailey asked Kregel during the broadcast what he had to say to the young people in the Astrodome. After reflection, the commander replied, "Well, I think that if they study hard and reach for their dreams, they can achieve anything they want." The power of that simple but eloquent statement was felt throughout the Dome as everyone looked upon the faces of astronauts who were fulfilling their own dreams in space.

Much like the Show, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is aware of its role in education. As Daniel S. Goldin, administrator of NASA, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on April 28, 1999, "Education is the single most important issue our generation faces today that will influence our nation's course for the future." The Johnson Space Center takes its promotion of education seriously and showed its commitment to education by its huge presence at the 2000 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

During the Show, JSC occupied the entire west entrance of the Astrohall, where it overwhelmed visitors with information and exhibits about the space program. According to Louis Parker, director of public affairs for the JSC, "The spacesuit photo opportunity was the biggest hit." Visitors could capture their space fantasies with a free photo of themselves standing in a spacesuit. Almost everyone who visited the JSC exhibit posed for a photo in the spacesuit.

While astronaut wannabes posed for pictures in the spacesuit, numerous other displays from the JSC tantalized the crowd. Food, a main interest of astronauts and cowboys alike, was displayed in a variety of travel pouches. Although recognizable, some of the food, such as the spaghetti and meatballs, did not look as appetizing as Mom's. However, the food's appearance was a result of the fact that it must be freeze-dried and vacuum-sealed. This process decreases the size and weight of the food, an important factor in space travel. At mealtimes, the astronauts inject water into the pouches to reconstitute the food. While this process makes the food ready to eat, it does not improve its appearance. To add flavor and appeal to the food, astronauts use a lot of condiments. "Their taste buds tend to get dull in space," said Parker.

In addition to the spacesuit and food displays, there was a simulated space shuttle-docking game, which garnered the attention of many of the Show's younger visitors. The object of this game was to "dock" a space shuttle to a space station, which, according to the young players, was not as easy as it looked.

For visitors who wanted more than games and displays about the space program, there was information on the space station, the space shuttle and the educational opportunities associated with the JSC. And, if that were not enough, the JSC provided the "Benefits from Space" in a NASA semitrailer. Inside the trailer, with a backdrop of a starry sky and space travel music, a soothing yet commanding voice described to the visitors the impact of space-related technology on people's daily lives. The development of equipment for space travel has led to the production of many everyday products.

Of course, the ultimate space experience at the Show was the out-of-this-world visit to RODEOHOUSTON™n by the orbiting astronauts. Although they could not see the crowd, the astronauts were overwhelmed by the cheering fans at the Dome. Bailey asked the crew if they would be able to attend the Show upon their return. Kregel responded, "There is only one place better that we would like to be than in space right now, and that's the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo." Kregel spoke from firsthand experience, since the first thing the crew did together last year was attend the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo as a group. "So, we would be happy and honored to come back and see you all."

While most people only dream of being an astronaut, Michael J. Foreman is living that dream and took time from his schedule to sign autographs in the Astrohall.

And come back they did. After they returned to Earth, the entire crew and their families visited the Show on March 4. Included in this group was Gerhard "Hoss" Thiele, who proudly sported his cowboy hat. His visit and the visit from the other astronauts proved the adage: you can take the cowboy out of Texas, but you cannot take Texas out of the cowboy.

Letters and comments should be sent to:
Marketing and Public Relations Division,
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
P.O. Box 20070, Houston, Texas 77225-0070