By CATHRYN WESTRA
DavidsonNews.net

Most of us are familiar with the amount of planning that goes into a summer road trip. Dr. Thomas Marshburn’s preparations for his big trip last summer were all that – and more. The 1982 Davidson College grad has known since he was a young boy in Statesville that he wanted to take this trip, and spent more than 30 years preparing for it.

He was talking of course about being on the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, known as STS-127, which took a 16 day trip last July to the International Space Station. Read the full story

Hard to believe that January 2010 is almost over. Next Monday we usher in February and of course Valentine’s Day. Fellas, you better start thinking right now about how to honor your sweetheart! On another note, this weekend brings us the 50th anniversary of Bubble-Wrap. What an occasion that is!

Today’s Around Davidson checks in on Tom Marshburn’s visit to Davidson College, visits with Kate Merrill of Merrill-Jennings Galleries of South Main Street. We also have some fun church sign sightings from Jean and Dick Berg. Lastly there is a note about the Saturday program with featuring ragtime pianist Ethan Uslan at St. Alban’s.

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NASA space shuttle astronaut Dr. Tom Marshburn is a native of Statesville and a 1982 Davidson College grad. He took time out from his visit back to his alma mater on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, to talk with DavidsonNews.net’s David Boraks and Cathryn Westra. They talked about how the one-time physics major and emergency room physician became an astronaut, what kind of person NASA is looking for, and the thrill of spacewalking.

Space shuttle astronaut and Davidson College grad Thomas Marshburn will be back at his alma mater Jan. 27 to talk about his experiences in free public lecture. The talk begins at 7:30 p.m. at Duke Family Performance hall in the Alvarez College Union.

a Davidson College graduate who spent more than two weeks on the International Space Station this past summer as a crewmember for the Space Shuttle Endeavour, will talk about his experience in a public lecture to be held Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the Duke Family Performance Hall at Davidson College.

Public tickets may be picked up at the College Union ticket office weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The office also will be open until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19. An additional 100 tickets will be available beginning at 6:30 p.m. the night of the lecture.

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Astronaut Tom Marshburn visited a school Monday in his hometown of Statesville. The 1982 Davidson College graduate, who also has relatives in Davidson, urged kids to find something they love and to work hard at it.

Read more in the Tuesday, Oct. 6,  Statesville Record & Landmark article,  “Astronaut describes what life is like in space.”

Updated Thursday, July 16, 9:30 a.m.

On its sixth try, and with weather in Florida cooperating, NASA launched the Space Shuttle Endeavour shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday. The flight will take the Shuttle, and Davidson grad Tom Marshburn, a mission specialist, to a rendezvous with the International Space Station on Friday. Read the full story

NASA called off the planned early morning launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour because of the same kind of hydrogen gas leak that halted a launch last week. The crew includes 1982 Davidson College graduate Dr. Tom Marshburn, who is the brother of Davidson resident Paul Marshburn.

Meanwhile, read David Perlmutt’s profile of Dr. Marshburn, including an interview with his brother, in today’s Charlotte Observer.

NASA early this morning delayed today’s launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour, because of a gas leak. The mission, whose crew includes Dr. Tom Marshburn, a 1982 Davidson grad, is on hold for at least 96 hours. See our Friday profile of Dr. Marshburn.