Md. Astronaut Achieves His Dream And Blasts Into Space
COCKEYSVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- Late Wednesday night, a Russian spacecraft carrying Baltimore native Reid Wiseman successfully docked at the International Space Station. The flight is a dream come true for Wiseman.
Mary Bubala spoke with his family in Cockeysville before he blasted off.
Reid Wiseman, 38, is far from his parents' home in Baltimore County, spending months in Star City, Russia training for this mission to the International Space Station.
Now on board with a cosmonaut and a German astronaut, Wiseman is heading 220 miles above the Earth's surface. But he's holding onto his home team spirit.
"Go Ravens! Alright, exactly. I've got my jersey up there," said Wiseman.
Reid Wiseman grew up in Cockeysville, Maryland. His parents, Bill and Judy Wiseman, share with WJZ Reid's fascination with building model rockets as a child.
"He loved looking up in the sky. I thought he would damage a couple of the neighbors' homes by the rockets that he'd shoot up. He would shoot the rockets up all the time," his parents said.
A 1993 graduate of Dulaney High School, they are so proud Wiseman is achieving his dream. After college, he went into the Navy and is now a commander who served five deployments, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, flying F-18s in combat.
In 2009, Wiseman was accepted into NASA's astronaut training.
"It's such a great feeling to be at the end of this journey and look back at how fantastic this road has been to get here. It's been exciting every stop of the way for me," Wiseman said.
Wiseman's whole family is in Russia to watch the launch and wish Reid a safe journey.
"You know, you see that space station go over and it just looked like a falling star. And this time, we'll think of people that are really on there. And I just want a safe return and a good family reunion," said Bill Wiseman.
Wiseman is scheduled to make at least two space walks to adjust equipment. He will also do maintenance and dozens of experiments on board the space station.
Wiseman will be on the International Space Station for six months.
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