A piece of Nate Saint's Piper PA-14 hitches a ride on the Space Shuttle 'Discovery'
Cape Canaveral, Florida:
Proving that space flight is not the highest calling for a pilot, Christian astronaut Patrick Forrester has taken a bit of missionary history onboard space shuttle Discovery.
The space flight was scheduled for liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in the early morning hours of August 25 local time but was delayed and finally took off on Saturday August 29 (AEST). The aim of the two-week orbital mission is to equip the International Space Station.
| | History in space: the battery box part from Nate Saint's aircraft that went aloft aboard Space Shuttle Discovery |
The item taken on board by Forrester comes from the battery box of martyred missionary pilot Nate Saint's Piper PA-14, which is on display at MAF US headquarters in Nampa, Idaho. Saint and four other missionaries were martyred on a sandbar in Ecuador on January 8 1956, by a tribe of Waodani Indians.
The incident sparked international news coverage and renewed interest in missionary service. Several of the tribesmen that killed Saint and the others later became converted to Christianity by relatives of the slain missionaries.
"Bringing attention to and renewing interest in missions would be a great result of this experience," said Forrester, who was born in El Paso, Texas, the year after the martyrdoms. "My deepest intent is to honor Nate Saint, the Saint family and all missionaries around the world."
Taking the piece aboard Space Shuttle Discovery received approval from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) after conforming to strict size and weight restrictions.
Forrester, who will be making his third shuttle flight, has logged more than 4,500 hours in more than 50 different aircraft and has been with NASA 16 years. In addition to his time at NASA, he spent over 26 years as an Army aviator. Yet his dream has been to assist with the high calling of missionary aviation.
| Patrick Forrester
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"I've always had a heart for missions," Forrester said. "When I visualise what I might do after I end my career at NASA, always in the back of my mind is going into the mission field in some way. If I could go tomorrow and be a pilot with an organization like MAF, I think that's what I'd do."
"There are so many needs out there," Forrester said. "People need to figure out where their passion and their talents intersect with God's plan for the world.
"(The account of Nate Saint and the martyred missionaries) just fascinated me, and through that I heard of the book Through the Gates of Splendor. That's when I really first understood about MAF."
When the mission is completed, Forrester will return the piece to MAF, providing a certificate confirming its presence on the space flight. The battery box part and certificate will then go on display at MAF headquarters in Nampa.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 31 August 2009 )
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