On May 15, Lu will become the third NASA astronaut with Hawaii ties to fly in space when the space shuttle Atlantis blasts off from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Although he was born in Springfield, Mass., and lived only three years in Hawaii, Lu considers Honolulu his hometown. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy when he was selected from 3,000 applicants to be one of the 19 members of the 1995 astronaut class.
Lu, a 33-year-old mission specialist, is part of an eight-person crew that will be making the sixth docking between a space shuttle and Russia's Mir space station. One of Lu's fellow mission specialists, Michael Foale, will leave Atlantis for a four-month stay on Mir.
Foale will take the place of astronaut Jerry Linenger, who's been on Mir since Jan. 15. Linenger will return to Earth with Lu and the Atlantis crew.
When Atlantis docks with Mir, Lu will be responsible for transfer operations, which include about 8,000 pounds of equipment and supplies.
He'll also be conducting biology experiments during the orbiter's scheduled 10-day mission.
"I'm incredibly excited. I can't wait to look down on Earth as we go by," Lu said in a telephone interview from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "I know the orbits when we cross Hawaii. I'll know when we'll be overhead. And I will have my camera. Tell everyone to smile."
Lu added that he savors the mission because it also offers an opportunity to work with the Russian space program.
He decided to become an astronaut, Lu said, because it was "a great chance to do something that not many people do. And I always loved airplanes. I always loved science. Now I have a chance to get involved with something big.
"It is a great adventure, and it takes teamwork to make it happen. Have you seen a launch? It is amazing that it all comes together and works."
Lu will be flying with several mementos from Hawaii.
One, presented from Gov. Ben Cayetano, is an 8-inch wooden replica of Manaiakalani, or Maui's fishhook, which symbolizes Hawaii's origin and relationship to the heavens.
According to Hawaiian legend, the demigod Maui used Manaiakalani to pull the Hawaiian Isles from the ocean to form the island chain. The hook is also represented in the constellation Manaiakalani, which is also known as the constellation Scorpius.
Lu, a varsity wrestler during his days at Cornell University, will also be carrying a wrestling letter from Punahou School, where he was an assistant wrestling coach.
Another item will be a patch from the General Aviation Council of Hawaii. "I used to fly a lot of airplanes in Hawaii," Lu said. "I flew over (Oahu's) North Shore a lot."
Lu said he feels a special kinship to Hawaii. It's the beauty of the locale with its mountains and beaches and the warmth of its people, he explained.
Lu considers Lorna Onizuka and Alice Veach, the widows of Hawaii's first two astronauts, to be good friends.
Lorna Onizuka, whose Hawaii-born husband was one of seven astronauts killed in 1986 when Challenger exploded shortly after lifting off, still lives in the Houston area. Alice Veach, whose Hawaii-raised husband died in 1995 from skin cancer, recently moved from Houston to Atlanta.
About three weeks ago, Lu and Carlos Noriega, an Atlantis mission specialist who will also be making his first space flight, threw a luau party at which Lorna Onizuka helped with the cooking.
"We shipped in the lomi and laulau. And even the kalua pig. Wendy (Noriega's wife, who is from Hawaii) wouldn't let us dig a pit in her backyard," Lu said.
Name: Edward Tsang Lu