N.B. connection | Man's relatives live in Stanley

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By BETTY MACGILLIVRAY
For The Daily Gleaner

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STANLEY - The upcoming launch of space shuttle Discovery from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will be watched with interest by residents of the Stanley area.

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FAMILY TIES: Elsie McAloon Cleveland, great-great-aunt to astronaut Richard Arnold, looks over family photographs. She lives in Ward Settlement, next door to the McAloon family homestead that the Arnold family came to see last summer.

Richard Arnold, an astronaut who traces his family roots back to Stanley, will be travelling to the International Space Station on his first trip into space.

He and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off for a 14-day trip sometime before March 13.

Arnold's great-great-grandparents were early settlers in Stanley. A history of Stanley refers to them as being from families of influence.

Arnold's relatives still live throughout New Brunswick. Although the Arnolds no longer live in Stanley, there are many McAloons from the great-great-grandmother's side of the family.

It was these relatives that Arnold's cousins visited last summer. They wanted to renew family ties and strengthen the connection between the New Brunswick and U.S. relatives.

Arnold, a former school teacher, told the Bowie Blade-News of Maryland that there will be no time for educational activities in the mission schedule, but there are plans for a live educational link during the mission.

Joe Acaba, also an educator-turned-astronaut, told the paper that teachers have to think on their feet. He said the crew can't help but identify lessons and experiences in orbit to take back to the classroom.

"There will be teacher moments," Acaba said.

Teachers in Stanley are viewing this connection to the shuttle launch as their "teacher moment."

"This is exceptional," said principal Stephen Everett. "This is exposure to space that we don't usually get. This makes learning fun. The science program will really capitalize on this.

"It would be wonderful if we could arrange to have astronaut Arnold visit our school."

Arnold won't be returning to the classroom as an instructor following the mission. His work at NASA could prepare him for a mission to the moon.

Each year, the provincial Department of Education promotes heritage through a specific theme. This year it has chosen the theme of transportation.

Students are using Arnold's experience to trace the evolution of travel from the horse- and buggy-days of Arnold's ancestors to Arnold's launch into space.

Kindergarten students, after learning about space travel, wrote to Arnold.

The comments ranged from "I like your suit" to "I hope you have a safe trip,-What is it like in space?" and "How do you get to be an astronaut?"

Arnold was selected by NASA in 2004. He completed astronaut candidate training in February 2006.

During the space flight, Arnold will conduct three of the mission's four spacewalks. The shuttle will deliver the fourth and final set of solar array wings. The array will provide power and electricity to power science experiments.

The shuttle will also deliver the first Japanese crew member to the station and bring back a U.S. astronaut who has lived aboard the station for three months.

This mission has had a number of delays, but a memo to family and friends from the commander of the flight said "delays can be the nature of the business when it comes to manned space flights. Some missions go off like clockwork on the first attempt, others have numerous delays."

Dick Arnold, Richard Arnold's father, said when talking to friends in Stanley he and his family have been prepared several times to go to Florida to see the launch.

He said generally U.S. and Canadian citizens don't have the same interest in space travel that was shown when NASA began launching people into space.

"It is important that we maintain an interest in the space program," he said.

He and his family will be at Kennedy Space Center when Discovery lifts off.