Cockeysville Father Of 2 Set To Launch Into Outer Space
COCKEYSVILLE, Md. (WJZ) — He's the dad next door, but he's about to launch into outer space. Cockeysville native Reid Wiseman is part of the next crew heading to the International Space Station.
Mary Bubala reports it's an amazing accomplishment for the 38-year-old father of two.
Wiseman gives a thumbs up from Star City, Russia. The Cockeysville native is now just two and a half weeks away from blasting off--heading 220 miles above the Earth's surface to dock at the International Space Station.
"Overwhelmed, completely overwhelmed," he said.
Wiseman is a Navy commander who served five deployments, including in Iraq and Afghanistan--flying F-18's in combat.
In 2009, he was accepted into NASA astronaut training. Now he is part of the crew for the space station's 40th expedition.
It's quite an amazing accomplishment for this Dulaney High School grad who thankfully studied Russian language at the school.
"It's 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 will be on the International Space Station for six months. But he promises to stay in touch with his 16,500 Twitter followers every day and says he's excited his parents and his wife and two daughters will be in Russia for the launch.
"They thought I would leave tomorrow and this was 2 1/2 years ago, so the full comprehension is not quite there, but now my older one is 8 1/2 and she understands, and she's really excited about it," Wiseman said.
Wiseman is scheduled to make at least two space walks outside the International Space Station to adjust equipment.
The launch is scheduled for Wednesday, May 28.
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