SPACE CENTER, Houston -- Air Force Col. John Fabian, a mission specialist on the seventh space shuttle flight, figured for years that he was too tall or had too little education or flight experience to become an astronaut.
'When they started picking crew members, they picked test pilots, short, bright test pilots. I wasn't any of those things,' joked Fabian. 'I was an observer, an interested observer.'
Then, in 1977, at age 38, the 6-foot-1 Fabian saw his chance to become a mission specialist. The height limitations for flying Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules had been relaxed. He had improved his education and experience.
'I picked up a pamphlet in 1977 that said NASA was looking for people. I said, 'Hey, I think I qualify for this program.' I filled out the paperwork and was fortunate enough to come to Houston,' Fabian said.
By that time, even though it was not necessary for becoming a mission specialist, Fabian had done a lot of flying. He earned several flying medals, including the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for service in the war.
More relevant was the doctorate of aeronautics and astronautics he received from the University of Washington in 1974, 10 years after he got his master's degree in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Fabian, a green-eyed, dark-haired man with a lopsided smile and a wry wit, comes from a line of persistent late achievers. His father, retired Dr. Felix Fabian, was a Houston police officer when Fabian was born in 1939.
'After the war, he attended the University of Houston at night and finished up a (criminology) degree there and got a teaching job in the Northwest,' Fabian said.
After Fabian had spent his childhood in Houston, his father's teaching opportunity at Washington State University moved the family from Texas across country to Washington.
Fabian earned his bachelor's degree from Washington State and married Donna Kay Buboltz of Spokane. They have two children.
Fabian himself was teaching happily at the Air Force Academy when NASA tapped him for the space program in 1978.
Fabian spent much of his early days as an astronaut working on development of the mechanical arm used to maneuver things in and out of the shuttle cargo bay.
His current crewmate, Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, also worked on the arm and once was his supervisor.
'John is just a super guy to work with,' Ms. Ride said of their experience together. 'I have ... only praise for working with him.'
Fabian's coming aboard NASA with the first six women astronaut candidates in 1978 -- and being one of the first men to fly in space with an American woman -- appears to have been a breeze. He jokes about the publicity given the women.
'I don't think anyone in the crew feels the slightest pang of jealousy because Sally is getting the exposure,' Fabian said, adding drily, 'I'm not speaking for my mother.'
For all his joking, Fabian denies being the crew comic: 'We don't have a crew comic. Maybe we ought to. What we're doing is serious business. We make comments for comic relief.'
When he is not working, Fabian likes to ski, jog and work on his foreign stamp collection.
'I've been doing it since I was 11 or 12 years old and I forgot how to stop. I don't collect American stamps. I used to. Then I decided I was wasting my time. If I bought it for 3 cents, it was always worth 3 cents or less.'
Fabian likes his job as a non-flying astronaut, but as a pilot he wonders sometimes what it would be like to fly the shuttle himself.
'I like the job I'm doing. I think it's an important job,' Fabian said.
'I think if I were given a choice of 'John, we've got a flight 18 months from now that you can fly and we'll let you pick your seat. You can fly it as a pilot or a mission specialist.' I'm not sure I could give them a quick answer.'
