Get ready for an out-of-this-world view of things! Next week’s speaker at West Bay Rotary’s weekly meeting is astronaut Steve Bowen, a United States Navy submariner and a NASA astronaut. According to his Wikipedia profile, Bowen has been on four spaceflights, three of which were Space Shuttle missions to the International Space Station. His first mission, STS-126, took place in November 2008, and his second was STS-132 in May 2010. His third was STS-133 in February 2011, and his fourth was SpaceX Crew-6 in March 2023.

In March 2011, Bowen completed his third spaceflight as a mission specialist on STS-133, which was Space Shuttle Discovery's final planned flight. Having flown on both STS-132 and STS-133, he became the first and only astronaut to fly on consecutive shuttle missions. Originally Tim Kopra was scheduled to fly on STS-133, but had a bicycle injury shortly before the mission, and so he was replaced by Bowen. On December 16, 2021, NASA assigned Bowen as commander of SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the ISS, launched in March 2023.

Astronaut Bowen’s talk will begin the weekly club meeting, starting at 7:30 a.m., on Thursday October 26^th at the Congregational Church in Camden. Guests and prospective members are always welcome. There is a $7 fee for non-members, which includes breakfast starting at 7:00 a.m.

About West Bay Rotary

West Bay Rotary is celebrating its 38th year of manifesting its mission of “service above self” here in the Midcoast. The club undertakes dozens of community projects as well as fundraising (and “fun-raising”) events, including its annual “Duck Derby,” Chowder Challenge, Christmas Trees, Chili Challenge, Toboggan Nationals parking, and more. The door for prospective members is always open. The club meets on Thursday mornings from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., also via Zoom. For more information, go to: www.westbayrotaryofmaine.org.