Staff writer
After Tyler Nick Hague saw Star Wars with his dad Don when he was 4-years-old, he wanted to be a space scientist.
Hague was recently admitted as an astronaut candidate. His dream is becoming a reality.
“He never wavered,” mother Beverly Hague said.
He will begin training at Johnson’s Space Center in Houston in August. It will be at least 18 months before Hague is flight ready. He told Beverly that he expects to train for several years before going into space.
What’s a few more years? Hague has taken all the steps necessary to become an astronaut. After graduating from Hoxie High School, he was admitted to the Air Force Academy. He eventually earned a hard-fought degree in astronautical engineering at one hallowed institution before earning his master’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He then became a test pilot engineer for the Air Force, testing jet systems and flight in mid-air. Recently he served at the Pentagon as the Department of Defense Deputy Chief of Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization.
“Everything he has done in the military, has taken him one step closer,” Beverly said.
Beverly Hague is a schoolteacher. From that perspective, she marveled at her son’s determination.
“I saw a little boy with a dream turn it into a goal and have it become reality,” she said. “His dad and I are very proud. We know he will give it his all.”
The Hagues lived in Peabody from about 1982 to 1989 when Don was principal at Peabody-Burns High School. Nick would have been in junior high when the family moved to Hoxie.
“It was a wonderful place to be,” Beverly said.
Don and Beverly now live in Gering, Neb. Nick, his wife Katie, and two children were looking at houses in Houston this week.