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1st Puerto Rican Astronaut
by Alsie
alph Acaba will never forget the day his son Joe called to let him know his life had astronomically changed.

"He called me at work, so I answered as I used to do, 'Hi, this is Ralph,' and my job title," said the father, who was a private-school administrator. "He said, 'Hi, this is Joe, astronaut.' There are very few things in life that one remembers forever."

Nearly five years after that phone call, the Acaba family is counting the days until Joe's first trip aboard space shuttle Discovery, which is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12. He'll be America's first astronaut of Puerto Rican descent.


"I'm very proud to represent the Puerto Rican community," Acaba said during a recent interview.

Ralph, 70, and his wife, Elsie, 73, will likely see Joe at KSC on Feb. 10.

"Traditionally, there is a barbecue with the astronauts' families and we will see him on that day," he said. "But we have to remember that they are in quarantine and we have to pass a physical exam before meeting with him for an hour."

Joe Acaba, ex-Marine, ex-Peace Corps volunteer and a former math and science teacher at Brevard's Melbourne High and Dunnellon Middle School in Marion County, was one of three teachers chosen by NASA in May 2004 to become astronauts. He moved to Houston to sit in a classroom, this time as a student. He learned to use the shuttle's robotic arm and trained for the two spacewalks he'll make during the Discovery mission.

Last February, when he traveled to his parents' homeland of Puerto Rico, Acaba was received like a celebrity, recognized by the Puerto Rican House of Representatives. He also met with students.

"I was very surprised with all the love people showed to him, especially the students who were in their [teens]," said Ralph, who accompanied his son. "The girls received him as if he was a rock star." Discovery is set to fly a truss segment to the international space station and install its final set of power-generating solar arrays. "I can't even begin to realize how cool it's going to be and what it is going to feel like," Acaba said.

"The one thing I hear from all the experienced fliers is, 'Don't forget to take a moment and look out the window, take a moment to enjoy it . . . Otherwise, you can be up there for 14 days and the next thing you know, you are coming home without having had a chance to enjoy it.' "

Back on Earth, in his parent's house in Anaheim, Calif., where he was raised, he's the middle child. When the siblings get together -- Ralph, 45; Richard, 44; Joe, 41, and Cynthia, 38 -- the dynamic is rather typical.

"We treat him like a son, like a brother. His chore is to take out the trash and he does it without any problems," Ralph Acaba said. The family is well aware of the risk of shuttle missions.

This week marked the 23rd anniversary of the breakup of Challenger, 73 seconds after it was launched Jan. 28, 1986, killing the first teacher/astronaut, Christa McAuliffe, and her six fellow crew members.

Ralph Acaba says he trusts his son's training as well as NASA's professionalism. And he and his wife are people of faith. "My wife, who is kind of religious, prays the rosary on a daily basis," Ralph said.

Joe Acaba's aunt, Irma Carrasquillo of Fort Lauderdale, also prays every day for her nephew. She is Elsie's younger sister. "We call each other every night for support," she said. "We are kind of anxious about the trip, but we have faith in God that everything is going to be all right."

Joe Acaba knows the space program's future is uncertain -- the shuttle is scheduled to be retired next year -- but he knows where he is headed after he leaves NASA. "When I started teaching I knew that was the job that I wanted to do," he said.

"I think I will definitely head back to the classroom and like all teachers you become more valuable when you share your personal experiences with students, and I think I will have some neat stories to tell and maybe some interesting ways to keep them motivated and want to learn a little bit."

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