Morocco. Saudi Arabia. New Guinea.
It wasn’t enough. Now, alumnus Ricky Arnold is headed for space.
A 1992 master’s graduate of the university, Arnold was selected along with five others to fly on shuttle Discovery’s STS-119 mission, when his team will be delivering the final pair of solar power “wings” to the International Space Station.
“I owe an awful lot to the University of Maryland and to the teachers I worked with,” Arnold said. “I’m thankful for the education I got because it’s carried me a long way, and now it’s gonna carry me even further.”
Arnold was selected to be a mission specialist by NASA in 2004 after astronaut training. His title is educator astronaut, reflecting his experience teaching all over the world. After earning an undergraduate degree at Frostburg University and a master’s in the Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences graduate program here, Arnold took off for Morocco to teach math and science courses. Since leaving the U.S., he has spent more than a decade teaching in places around the world, including Saudi Arabia, New Guinea and Romania.
Although Arnold, who holds a post at the American International School in Bucharest, Romania, says he has a passion for teaching, he also said he has been drawn toward space since childhood.
“I’ve thought about it since I was a little kid, watching Apollo going to the moon,” he said. “I’m excited to be a part of the team that makes that all happen.”
Next fall, Arnold will be going on “space walks” to attach the segments to the space station, he said. Arnold has been undergoing weightless training in an underwater tank to prepare him for space and will soon begin more mission-specific training, which he said he could not elaborate on publicly.
Arnold studied under University of Maryland Center for Environmentla Science professor Bill Dennison.
“He has a unique set of skills that bodes well for being shot into space,” said Dennison. “He’s pretty adaptable; he can live in a whole different culture.”
When Arnold first applied to NASA, Dennison was asked to fill out a form detailing Arnold’s personality. On the application, Dennison described an experience Arnold had in 1989 while taking one of his biology classes in Bermuda.
Arnold and the rest of the class had been scuba diving, working on experiments, when an intense storm formed. The students sought shelter in an abandoned house, and Dennison’s future wife and Arnold were both struck by lightning.
“Ricky’s behavior was cool under fire, and that’s why I thought he would be a good astronaut,” said Dennison.
“We are very proud that our alum, mission specialist Richard Arnold, will be a member of the Discovery space shuttle crew and contribute significantly to NASA’s STS-119 mission next fall,” said university President Dan Mote in a written statement. “It is a historic moment for the University of Maryland, Frostburg State University and the University System of Maryland, as well as for Prince George’s County. His expertise is yet another reflection of the high quality talent that we produce, and we will all be watching with great excitement.”
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