In The Front Row with Mike Vaccaro

Leland Melvin was born and raised in Lynchburg, VA in the 1960s during the time of the moon landing in 1969.  But, instead of wanting to be the next Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin, Melvin wanted to be the next Arthur Ashe. While tennis didn't become his sport, football did, and Melvin earned a scholarship to the University of Richmond. Playing for the Spiders from 1982-85, Melvin set records as a wide receiver and was inducted into the Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame. He was drafted in the NFL by the Detroit Lions in 1986 but a hamstring injury ended his time in Detroit. Melvin gave it another try playing for Tom Laundry and the Dallas Cowboys, but an injury would ultimately end his professional football aspirations. During this time, Melvin worked on his master's degree from the University of Virginia and in 1989 started working at NASA's Langley Research Center. He was selected as an astronaut in 1998 and flew two missions on Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2008 visiting the International Space Station where he helped build a laboratory. After logging 565 hours in space, Melvin retired and returned to Lynchburg. He wrote his autobiography, ”Chasing Space”, and became a motivational speaker. Melvin shares his incredible story with us including obstacles that nearly ended his chance to become an astronaut. He also tells us the role football played in his career in space and takes us through what it's like traveling at 17,500mph. Plus, we go behind-the-scenes of his viral photo of him and his dogs that would become the cover of his autobiography. Now an author of a book for young readers, Melvin gives us the backstory of ”Space Chasers” which is the first in a series of books featuring middle school students in an exclusive NASA program.

(Special thanks to MacMillan Publishers for arranging our interview with Melvin. For more in ”Space Chasers” or to order a copy, visit https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250782779/spacechasersbylelandmelvin/).