"I just remember it being an incredibly violent lift-off from the pad," Ferguson said. "I mean, I remember I could not read the displays, I could not even read the light that was in front of me."
Ferguson is a graduate of Archbishop Ryan and Drexel University and has Philly pride that is out of this world. On a previous mission, he brought a Chase Utley jersey with him. This time, however, Ferguson was much more cryptic.
"We have stowed away another jersey, I'll leave that name to be determined," the shuttle commander said. "But I hope to see the Phils in the World Series, and that would be a great time to return it back to them."
Ferguson may forever be known as the answer to the trivia question: "Who commanded the final shuttle mission?" as NASA currently does not have any solid plans for a new vehicle to take American astronauts into space.
"But that will come to an end," Ferguson said. "Five, perhaps six years, hopefully before some commercial companies that are working on that, and will give us that capability back again."
For Ferguson, outside of space, it is family, Philly and rock and roll as he is the drummer in the all-astronaut band, Max-Q.
"We love playing for a lot of folks who support the space program, and we hope to get back together," Ferguson said. "I think we'll have a little more time on our hands after this mission."
Speaking of his return, Ferguson promises poignant remarks when his shuttle touches the runway next Thursday, July 21st.
"We'll work on something profound and we promise we'll have some good words to reflect upon to remember the space shuttle program by."
Ferguson and his crew may really have to think hard. The reason? That same day, 42 years ago, Neil Armstrong first planted his foot on the moon, offering poignant remarks of his own.
