ROOM WITH A VIEW The International Space Station ( ISS ) afforded
Kate Rubins ’ 99 and fellow astronauts spectacular scenery to match the science . Here , moonlight shines on the ocean off the coast of Italy and the brightly-lit city of Naples .
B O V E
UC SAN DIEGO ALUMNI SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY — BUT NONE SO MUCH AS KATE RUBINS ’ 99 .
BY MALINDA DANZIGER ’ 00
I ’ m sitting in the cockpit of the Space Shuttle Discovery , surrounded by flickering buttons , knobs and dials all calling for my attention as the countdown to liftoff begins . Our mission is to repair a faulty satellite , and as shuttle commander , the success and safety of my crew ultimately belongs to me . I hear the final “ 3 , 2 , 1 …” over the communications radio , and I sit straight up , ready .
Disclaimer : It ’ s 1988 , I ’ m 10 years old , and we ’ ll never leave the ground outside Kennedy Space Center , where I ’ ve come for a week of Space Camp . That didn ’ t matter — if you had asked that girl what she wanted to be when she grew up , she would have stood confidently , eyes wide with a child ’ s enthusiasm , and answered , “ Astronaut .”
Most children of the ’ 80s would have said the same thing . Yet one of them — a star-gazing girl from California ’ s Napa Valley — would do it . Even at a young age , Kate Rubins ’ passion for science gave her a drive and focus beyond her years , one that led her to UC San Diego before her trajectory would leave this planet .
Our paths may never have crossed while on campus , but there is still a common bond as alumnae — a sense of pride for what she ’ s accomplished and for what is yet to come from all the girls , yesterday and today , who share that same dream and drive .
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