CHAPTER ONE ENDEAVOR TO DREAM 5 On the morning of September 12 1992 Mae Carol Jemison woke up early to prepare for the biggest day of her life In her room at the Kennedy Space Center in central Florida she donned a specially designed striped shirt and slacks and then went to breakfast There she was joined by the rest of the seven member crew of the space shuttle Endeavour commander Robert Hoot Gibson pilot Curtis Brown mission specialists Mark Lee Dr Jay Apt and Dr Jan Davis and payload specialist Dr Mamoru Mohri They all enjoyed a hearty meal of their choosing whether the traditional pre launch breakfast of steak and eggs or something else The steak and eggs meal had become an astronaut tradition ever since Alan Shepard became the first American launched into space in May 1961 In September 1992 physician Mae Jemison was one of two women on the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour
6 Jemison savored the meal hoping she would be able to keep it down once she reached the microgravity environment in space But the most anticipated part of the breakfast came last the traditional pre takeoff cake complete with the mission's patch made out of frosting A UNIQUE MISSION STS 47 the fiftieth space shuttle flight in National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA history was characterized by a number of firsts Jemison was to be the first woman of color in space Mission specialists Jan Davis and Mark Lee would be the first married couple to fly together and Dr Mamoru Mohri would be the first Japanese citizen to travel on a NASA Jemison second from right was one of four first time astronauts on STS 47
7 spacecraft Jemison was also the first astronaut given the title of science mission specialist meaning she would carry out a variety of life science and materials science experiments on board The crew's mission was called Spacelab with the J indicating the mission's major sponsor Japan's National Space Development Agency NASDA The laboratory portion of the shuttle was 23 feet 7 m long and it contained the scientific equipment and computers needed to conduct 44 different experiments Jemison Mission Patch would run experiments that were expected to yield significant findings in medicine and technology CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF After breakfast the seven Each NASA mission has its own unique patch The crew members of STS 47 designed theirs to depict the space shuttle with the laboratory module Spacelab J in its cargo bay In the background are the flags of the United States and Japan the two countries that made the mission possible The land masses of Japan and Alaska are shown representing the two nations The initials SLJ on the left side stand for the mission's full name Spacelab Japan Japanese characters on the right side spell the word for weightlessness The crew's last names border the patch astronauts suited up in their orange pressurized suits Jemison checked her communication headset to ensure a comfortable fit under her helmet NASA technicians in turn scrutinized the crew's suits for any last minute malfunctions and then deemed them safe for travel Jemison walked alongside Mohri as they
