(College Station)—Texas Gov. Rick Perry on July 13 told fellow Texas Aggie Mike Fossum, then aboard the space shuttle "Discovery" about 220 miles above earth, that he was proud of Fossum's accomplishments and promised him two football tickets to the Texas A&M-University of Texas football game Nov. 24 in Austin.
Perry, speaking to Fossum from Fort Worth, said that "Discovery" crew member Stephanie Wilson, who holds a master's degree from Texas, would also have two tickets "and we hope we can celebrate an Aggie victory. You and Stephanie will have 50-yard line seats and we hope Stephanie will have to eat some crow," referring to the two schools' intense football rivalry.
"Wow, that's great," Fossum replied. "I'm already looking forward to it, and I want to thank you for your support of the space program."
Fossum and his wife, Melanie, are both 1980 Texas A&M graduates. Perry is a 1972 Texas A&M graduate.
Perry also told Fossum that "we are proud of what you're doing. Aggies everywhere are celebrating that we have the first Aggie in space (undergraduate degree recipient). You're doing a whale of a job for us."
Fossum and crew member Piers Sellers finished the last of their three planned spacewalks on July 12, making minor repairs and inspecting the shuttle during a safety procedures examination. In all, the duo spent more than 21 hours in space during the three spacewalks.
Also on July 12, five Aggie yell leaders greeted Fossum with a rousing cheer from NASA headquarters. Head yell leader Grant Castleberry led the other yell leaders in Texas A&M's "Beat the Hell Outta TU" yell "to give you some encouragement," Castleberry said.
"That's great to hear," Fossum replied.
"I know there are Texas Aggies from the governor's mansion to the
fields of Afghanistan and Iraq. I'm proud to carry the Aggie flag
to another place," referring to an A&M flag Fossum has among
his personal items aboard the "Discovery." 