Sandra Magnus Astronaut Published July 20, 2007 By Airman 1st Class Andrew Davis 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE Ill. -- Saturday at a free event open to the public local born and raised NASA astronaut spoke at the Lindenwood University-Belleville campus in Belleville. Dr. Sandra Magnus spoke about her training, flight experience and her current work with the International Space Station. Dr. Magnus was born in Belleville, Ill. on October 30, 1964. After graduating from Belleville West High School in 1982, she received a bachelor degree in physics in 1986 and completed her master degree from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1990. In 1996, she received a doctorate from the School of Material Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Magnus starting by speaking about her training leading up to her first flight on the STS-112 Atlantis, "Survival school was fun but finding food to eat was always a challenge probably the best thing to eat was snake," she said. After survival training the future astronauts had to learn to fly the Talon T-38 jet that serves to train in pilot proficiency and shuttle training. "You learn quickly its amazing how quickly a person can adapt to different situations," said Dr. Magnus. Along with the flight training and survival school, photography and learning to function in a weightless environment was also an important part of the training. "You can't train for everything eating, haircuts and bathing are all things you can't train for and just have to experience firsthand in space," she said. Dr. Magnus also spoke about her space flight that occurred October 7 through the 18, 2002. STS-112 Atlantis was an International Space Station assembly mission during which the crew delivered and installed the S-One Truss, the third piece of the stations 11-piece Integrated Truss Structure. Dr. Magnus operated the space stations robotic arm during the three spacewalks required to outfit and activate the new component "Operating the robotic arm was almost like a big video game," she said. The mission was accomplished in 170 orbits, traveling 4.5 million miles in 10 days, 19 hours and 58 minutes. Dr. Magnus also discussed her future plans at NASA. She is currently training for an extended stay mission on the International Space Station mission. Dr. Magnus's special appearance was part of the Belleville Public Library's "Mission Read: To the Library and Beyond" summer reading program. The first 125 families also received a book "Amelia Takes Command" by Marissa Moss.