Even a small-town guy from Jamestown, N.D., can become an astronaut. Richard Hieb is proof.

âÂÂI never thought IâÂÂd be in the space business, let alone be an astronaut,â Hieb told Kansas University aerospace engineering students and other visitors during a lecture Friday.

Hieb worked at NASAâÂÂs Johnson Space Center in the early 1980s as an aerospace engineer. He said he realized becoming an astronaut might be possible while sitting in a space shuttle simulator watching astronauts Richard Truly and Joe Engle practice a procedure Hieb had written for them for dumping the shuttleâÂÂs space arm.

âÂÂI could do those things,â Hieb recalled thinking, as he observed the astronauts trying to remember which buttons to push.

Hieb became an astronaut in 1986 and went on to make three space shuttle flights in the early 1990s.

During one of those flights, Hieb was part of a three-man team sent out to capture by hand a troublesome satellite when it was discovered one astronaut couldnâÂÂt do it by himself. It was the first space walk by three astronauts at the same time.

HiebâÂÂs third shuttle flight in 1994 was a 15-day record-setting marathon during which the crew conducted more than 80 experiments in the International Microgravity Laboratory.

The best thing about being in space is zero gravity and the joys of floating, Hieb said.

âÂÂEverything in your hands becomes a toy,â he said. âÂÂYou play with your food.âÂÂ

A close second is just looking at Earth, he said.

But getting used to gravity back on earth is difficult, he said.

âÂÂYour brain thinks you are going to do something but your body is slow getting the message,â he said. âÂÂThe first time you stand up it literally feels like you have somebody sitting on you.âÂÂ

Fun aside, space is dangerous, Hieb said.

âÂÂFlying in space is kind of like being in an environment where somebodyâÂÂs shooting at you,â he said. âÂÂA lot of bad things can happen.âÂÂ

Hieb is now a retired astronaut. The department of aerospace engineering arranged his KU appearance.

One of the visitors to his lecture was 10-year-old Max Iverson, Lawrence, accompanied by his mother, Sue Iverson. Max also wants to become an astronaut, and one of his hobbies is launching model rockets.

âÂÂI liked listening to him and I like fixing things,â Max said.