Hawai'i astronaut in limbo
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
Whether stunt flying over O'ahu's North Shore, advancing theories in the field of solar astronomy or walking in space, Ed Lu never had trouble soaring above it all. Until now.
Advertiser library photo • Nov. 12, 1997
The former University of Hawai'i astronomer and Punahou School assistant wrestling coach-turned-astronaut was scheduled to go up in the next shuttle launch March 1 and live on the International Space Station for several months with two Russians. NASA has put the flight on hold because of the Columbia tragedy.
Astronaut Ed Lu encourages potential space travelers from Wai'anae Intermediate School at a simulated space center at Barbers Point Elementary School.
Although he was born and raised on the East Coast and lived in Hawai'i only three years, Lu considers Honolulu one of his hometowns, the other being Webster, N.Y., where he graduated from high school in 1980. Lu, 39, was a postdoctoral fellow at the UH Institute for Astronomy when he was selected for the 1995 astronaut class.
Attempts to interview Lu have been deflected by NASA because of the Columbia tragedy. But friends in Hawai'i wonder what's next for him.
At Punahou School, staff members still root for the quiet, unassuming man who volunteered to coach the wrestling team.
"We were just really lucky to have him. He's a gem,'' said Doug Bennett, the school's former co-athletic director. "Then the next thing you know, he's an astronaut.''
Don Mickey, a senior UH solar astronomer, described his former colleague as a productive scientist who followed some creative approaches to understanding the workings of solar flares.
Lu, who completed his undergraduate work at Cornell and earned his doctorate from Stanford, has published on a wide range of topics: solar flares, cosmology, solar oscillations, statistical mechanics and plasma physics.
Mickey said Lu made it clear he wanted to be an astronaut and that he made an ideal candidate: bright, level-headed and stable, a man with a range of interests, including flying stunt planes.
"Every once in a while, I thought about going on a ride with him, but then no — that was not a good thing," Mickey said, laughing.
After a year of training, Lu flew as a mission specialist on Atlantis in 1997 and again in 2000, logging more than 504 hours in space, 8.5 million miles traveled and walking in space for more than six hours on his last flight.
Lu always has taken Hawai'i with him on his trips into space. Macadamia nuts and Kona coffee are a must, along with a Native Hawaiian fishhook presented to him by former Gov. Ben Cayetano and a Punahou varsity letter. Several Hawaiian music CDs have accompanied him, including Willie K's first release, "Kahaiali'i.''
Willie K, who has a signed copy of the CD jacket that circled the planet, said he had been told the recording was played over the Islands. The singer later dedicated the song "North Shore Reggae Blues'' to the astronaut in concert.
Between missions, Lu returns to Hawai'i to speak to schoolchildren.
Bennett recalls a talk at Punahou. "He spoke for an hour, and his audience was mesmerized. He's ... able to captivate his audience because he's such a storyteller. He was great,'' Bennett said.
