Jim Meyer looks up as a bright yellow light moves steadily across the twilit sky like an everlasting shooting star. It's right on schedule.
"I'm so addicted to seeing this," said Meyer. "It's like watching five minutes of beauty pass overhead."
Throughout much of July, the retired NASA launch operations manager greeted the International Space Station (ISS) from outside his Garibaldi Estates home almost every evening while Canadian astronaut Julie Payette rendezvoused aboard the space shuttle Endeavour.
Payette has since returned to Earth but another space shuttle, the Discovery, was planned to set off for the ISS on Thursday night (Aug. 27) with a crew of seven astronauts, which means the earthbound can again see two "shooting stars" on a daily basis during the shuttle's 13-day flight.
The 62-year-old still spends most of his time in the East Coast space launch mecca of Cape Canaveral, Florida, but has spent every summer in Squamish since retiring from NASA in 2003.
Near the beginning of his 37-year career, Meyer worked on the famous Apollo 11 mission to the moon as a young engineer, and remembers feeling a sense of awe while watching the landing on television on June 20, 1969.
"I just couldn't believe we were doing it," he said.
Although Meyer didn't return to Florida for the recent 40th anniversary celebrations, he commemorated the mission in his own way by tracking the ISS from Squamish. Now that the space station and shuttle are visible again, he wants to share the experience with fellow residents.
"I'm kind of glad I didn't go back because of what unfolded here with the viewings and the Canadian media coverage with there being a Canadian astronaut on board. It's a lot more prominent here," he said.
Those hoping for a glimpse of the shuttle and space station will have opportunities Sept. 7 to 10, when the sightings are in the early evening. The next sighting is Saturday (Aug. 29) at 5:29 a.m., when the ISS and the shuttle will be visible traveling across the sky out of the northwest for six minutes. A timetable for sightings is available at www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings.
This past school year, Meyer continued to pursue his interest in space travel by speaking at local elementary schools. He said he was encouraged by the students' enthusiasm for space exploration because it bodes well for NASA's future.
"In every one of these letters you can see how much interest there is," said Meyer, shuffling through a stack of thank you letters written by students. "I think at least four of the kids said they want to be NASA engineers."
Meyer said he didn't find it difficult to retire from NASA because he was so satisfied with his accomplishments, which include participating in the 1997 launch of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft. The Cassini orbiter and Huygens probe entered Saturn's orbit in 2004 and are still relaying data back to Earth.
Meyer said he understands the importance of staying grounded. He's watched colleagues get caught up with their careers to the point of neglecting external, earthly interests. That's why he spends his summers in Squamish hiking, biking and kayaking.
Squamish provides him with a whole new world to discover, he said.
"I knew there was another life out there that I would like. I feel like I have a whole second life here."
