Lynchburg astronaut Leland Melvin plans city visit

By Christa Desrets

Published: March 18, 2008

Lynchburg’s astronaut, Leland Melvin, is coming home.

Melvin is scheduled to speak at a public convocation service at Liberty University on April 7 as part of his first trip to his hometown since a 13-day mission on the Space Shuttle Atlantis last month.

He also will visit Heritage High School that morning, said his sister, Cathy Clarke of Rustburg.

Melvin, a 1982 Heritage graduate, will present the school flag that he took into space.

Liberty is paying to fly Melvin from Houston NASA to Lynchburg, said Barry Moore, vice president of university relations, but the exact dates he will arrive and leave have not been determined.

At the college, Melvin is scheduled to speak to the Monday morning convocation, which will be open to the public and held at the school’s Vines Center.

“Additionally, we’re going to ask astronaut Melvin if he will speak to a combined engineering and aeronautics class,” Moore said.

Melvin, 44, grew up near Fort Avenue in Lynchburg, the youngest child and only son of teachers Grace and Deems Melvin. His parents and sister, Cathy Melvin Clarke, still reside here.

He played a key role aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, operating a 58-foot robotic arm to install the European Space Agency’s Columbus lab onto the International Space Station.

After the mission, he said the crew would pass on its knowledge to future astronauts before starting a post-flight tour across the U.S. and Europe.

Moore said that bringing Melvin to campus was Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr.’s idea.

“It’s wonderful that NASA and astronaut Melvin have a chance to talk to universities and colleges and high schools around the country,” Moore said, “to share some of what goes on with the United States space program, the challenges that they face, the engineering and science feats that they must overcome. All in all, it’s just a great learning experience for young people.”