Former Beach-based Navy SEAL heads to space

Weeks after Sept. 11, Chris Cassidy and his SEAL team headed right into the caves of Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden was rumored to hide.

They didn't find al-Qaida's leader, but in January 2002 they discovered a miles-long network of caves that served as training grounds, command center and safe house for the militant group.

The team of commandos helped turn the caves of Zhawar Kili - brimming with explosives, weapons and supplies - into rubble. The accomplishment earned Cassidy his first Bronze Star.

Now the Navy commander is heading to a place few SEALs ever go: space. He's part of the seven-member crew that will guide the space shuttle Endeavour from Cape Canaveral, Fla., into orbit for mission STS-127. It's scheduled to launch today.

The 39-year-old mission specialist is to complete three of the five planned spacewalks.

Jack Cassidy said Tuesday that he never envisioned his oldest son growing up to be an astronaut.

"Never in my wildest," Cassidy said from Florida, where the family has gathered to watch the early-morning launch. But he added, "I always knew with his personality and his strengths, he'd be successful at whatever he tried."

Cassidy's trajectory into space began in New England. He considers York, Maine, to be home. After earning a math degree from the Naval Academy in 1993, Cassidy went to basic underwater demolition/SEAL training, or BUD/S, the famously difficult SEAL boot camp. He was the honor graduate.

Cassidy, a married father of three, split his SEAL career between teams in Virginia Beach and Coronado, Calif. Locally, he served with SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2 at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base and later served as executive officer and operations officer of Special Boat Team 20. In Coronado, he led SEAL Team 3, and it was from there he deployed to Afghanistan in late 2001. The year before, he had earned a master's degree in ocean engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in 2004 - the same year he earned a second Bronze Star - and embarked on 18 months of training, including flight school.

Jack Cassidy said hundreds of friends and supporters came together Saturday for the Endeavour's scheduled launch, which was scrubbed because of a gas leak. NASA allowed each astronaut to invite 270 guests, he said, and Chris' included dozens of SEAL comrades and the Navy's top special operations officer, Adm. Eric Olson.

Most of them couldn't stay four more days waiting for takeoff, Jack Cassidy said. But he was touched by the outpouring of support and good wishes.

"It started to become clear to me how big this thing really is, and more importantly than that, how much people think of him. It's a very good feeling to have him held in such high regard by so many," Jack Cassidy said.

He thanked Olson for coming and noted it was a big honor for his son. Nonsense, Olson replied - it was his honor to be there.

Cassidy is to be the second SEAL in space, and he could be the last.

Capt. William Shepherd was the first. Shepherd commanded the international space station, spending 141 days aboard in 2000 and 2001. Cassidy has said he followed Shepherd's career and asked his advice years ago about the transition from commando to astronaut.

Other SEALs might not get the same chance.

Last year, the Navy's personnel division announced that SEALs - along with other much-in-demand sailors such as intelligence specialists, explosive ordnance disposal officers and engineering duty officers - are not permitted to apply to NASA's astronaut program.

Jack Cassidy acknowledged being anxious about the launch and the 16-day space mission to follow. But he feels more secure than when Chris Cassidy was bound for Afghanistan in the weeks after the terrorist attacks of 2001.

"Chris is doing what he loves to do," Jack Cassidy said. "He was doing that all along the line. I'm sure doing what he loves to do is one of the reasons he's so successful."

As for his son's delicate work, tethered outside the shuttle in a space suit, Cassidy is confident Chris' preparation has been rigorous.

"Like the special ops, they train and they train and they train and they train," Cassidy said. "They are very well-prepared. I suppose you're always nervous.

"Being able to maneuver through nervousness and being scared is what he's trained to do."

Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com