Shuttle Discovery Launch Pushed to March 13, 2009
specialist preparing for two spacewalks during the February flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery, has added an educational component to the mission that will help inspire students in his hometown and in communities throughout the U.S. • STS-119 is scheduled to take off Feb. 22 on a 15-day mission to the International Space Station. Acaba and fellow astronaut/educator Richard Arnold will help install the final truss elements and solar arrays needed to complete the station’s backbone. Together, they have developed an educational Web site that focuses on spacesuits and spacewalks • The site, www.nasa.gov/education/spacesuits, provides teachers with activity guides for K-12th Grade students. It also includes a career corner with profiles on spacesuit designers and technicians. • “This site is bound to peak the interest of school-age youngsters, both in our city and across the country,” said Marc T. Little, president of Inglewood Partners for Progress and chief operating officer and general counsel of Forum Enterprises. “Joe and his parents stand as a great source of pride for our community.” • Acaba’s mother and father were born in Puerto Rico; Ralph, moved to the U.S. when he was 10, and Elsie arrived when she was 18. They married in New York and moved to Inglewood’s Morningside Park neighborhood in the early ‘60s. Joe was born at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in 1967 and attended Kindergarten and 1st Grade at Inglewood Christian School. Ralph, who worked in banking and finance, moved his family to a larger home in the Valley in 1974 and finally settled in Anaheim in 1977. Joe has two older brothers and a younger sister, and now has three children of his own. • “My dad is my hero. He came to the States with very little and worked hard to make sure we had what we needed," Acaba said. "He instilled a real work ethic in me." • Acaba earned a geology degree from UC Santa Barbara in 1990, and a master’s degree from the University of Arizona in 1992. He was an officer in the Marine Corps Reserves, then went to work as a hydrologist before spending two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic, training teachers on environmental education. "Once I did that, I knew that education was what I wanted to do,” he said. “The only job that could take me away from teaching was being an astronaut, and being an astronaut/educator is the best of both worlds.” He was selected as a Mission Specialist candidate in the astronaut class of 2004. • Acaba looks forward to reaching out to young people during his mission, particularly minority students. "As an educator, I think the most important thing for me is to fulfill the goal of inspiring the next generation,” he said. “Motivating kids to learn is as important as the subject matter.” • Inglewood Partners for Progress is preparing a proclamation for presentation to Acaba once he returns to earth, and to Southern California. “Joe Acaba is a wonderful role model for the youth of our community,” Little said, “and we will be proud to welcome him back to his hometown.”
Inglewood Partners for Progress is a public/private partnership between the City and its largest employers. Together they work to build business for Inglewood while enhancing the experience of visitors to its celebrated sports, entertainment, medical and shopping facilities. Partners members include The Forum, Hollywood Park Land Co., Hollywood Park Casino, Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Inglewood Park Cemetery, Los Angeles World Airports, Inglewood/Airport Area Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Inglewood.
