NASA selects Chicago area orthopedist as astronaut

Robert L. Satcher Jr., MD, PhD, a musculoskeletal oncologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, started training in July.

Issue: September 2004

Robert L. Satcher Jr., MD, PhD,
was selected for the 2004 NASA astronaut class from a field of about 2000 applicants.

Orthopedic surgeon Robert L. Satcher Jr., MD, PhD, was selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as one of 11 people to join its newest class of astronaut candidates.

Satcher, who has studied the effects of different environments on cells and bones during his education and career, is one of two physicians in the class.

“Orthopedics is all about taking care of the musculoskeletal system and that’s what this is, too. It’s unusual in that, obviously, there’s not a whole lot of prior experience. As far as I know, I am the first orthopedic surgeon to have done this. I think that’s what makes it so exciting; it’s an obvious area where orthopedics can have a very direct and large impact,” Satcher told Orthopedics Today.

Depending on how the training goes, he and the other class members could help develop the Crew Exploration Vehicle, which will study the effects of microgravity on the human body, and help plan the initial lunar missions, according to a press release issued by Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where Satcher practices.

After the yearlong training he may be eligible for a mission assignment.

Satcher’s appointment was announced in May during the Space Day celebration held at the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

Dream mission

Satcher, who is 38 years old, has specialized in pediatric and adult musculoskeletal oncology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for two and one-half years and is assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. He is a researcher at Northwestern University’s Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and its Institute for Bioengineering and Nanoscience in Advanced Medicine.

Tackling the space frontier has been one of Satcher’s dreams. “There’s some scientist in me. There’s some explorer in me. There’s a humanitarian in me also. Space is the one venue that has the highest potential for benefiting people if we continue to be serious about exploring it,” he said in the release.

Among those who Satcher said influenced him most regarding his latest challenge were Emily Holton, branch chief of the Gravitation Research Branch of NASA, with whom he worked during his residency at the University of California-San Francisco, and astronaut Ron McNair who died in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. McNair and Satcher both graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Satcher was inspired by a speech he once heard McNair make.

Satcher focused on biomedical engineering research during his PhD work. His MD degree is from Harvard University School of Medicine.

Michael F. Schafer, MD, chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at Northwestern Memorial, told Orthopedics Today that Satcher helped build the hospital’s musculoskeletal oncology service and its research component. “Bobby actually crossed both of those lines very, very well for me. He’s such an affable person that it’s almost hard not to take an immediate liking to him.”

Schafer, a member of the Orthopedics Today Editorial Board’s Spine Section, said Satcher helped recruit someone to do some of the clinical work during his leave of absence. “He wants to make the transition as smooth as possible and help get the new person established quickly,” Schafer said.

Married and the father of a baby girl, Satcher applied to NASA a few years ago at a time when his life slowed down enough for him to reflect on his goals and dreams, something he encourages everyone with a vision to do. “That was the one instant in time that I guess has made all the difference.”