Surgeon on Atlantis mission has Virginia ties

Dr. Robert L. Satcher Sr. couldn't help but be amazed as he watched the space shuttle Atlantis rocket into the Florida sky yesterday atop a plume of flame and column of smoke.

But the president of Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville was an anxious parent, too.

His son, Dr. Robert L. Satcher Jr., is a mission specialist aboard Atlantis.

"We were quite exhilarated and slightly nervous, as you would expect," Satcher said by phone after watching the launch from a special viewing area for families at the Kennedy Space Center. He was accompanied by his wife, Marian, and other close relatives.

"At the same time, we were thanking God and praying for a safe journey for our son and the rest of the crew."

Satcher isn't the only local connection on Atlantis. Leland D. Melvin, a native of Lynchburg who studied chemistry and played football at the University of Richmond, is making his second flight into space.

Satcher Jr., 44, an orthopedic surgeon and bone cancer specialist known at home as Bobby, was born in Hampton and grew up in South Carolina. He was already well into his college career -- he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with bachelor's and doctoral degrees and from Harvard Medical School -- by the time his father came to Saint Paul's in 1988.

Satcher will be making two spacewalks on the 11-day mission and will be operating the Atlantis' robotic arm. He also will be conducting studies on the loss of bone mass during long-term space travel.

A key objective of the mission is to deliver spare parts to the International Space Station.

The astronauts have largely been quarantined in recent days, but immediate family members were allowed limited contact with the crew Sunday. Satcher shook his son's hand.

"Proud and thankful," Satcher said, when asked how he felt about his son hurtling safely toward space.

The Satchers plan to return to Kennedy Space Center for the scheduled landing of Atlantis on Nov. 27.

Contact Bill Lohmann at (804) 649-6639 or .