Mission Accomplished : ‘Dream Come True’ Made Him Sick, Garn Concedes

The first elected official to fly in space said today that he did what he was supposed to do aboard the Discovery.

He got sick.

But the fact that he spent his first two days of flight suffering from space sickness was a small price to pay for a “dream come true,” Sen. Jake Garn (R-Utah) said during a press conference from the Discovery. ‘Every day I would pinch myself and think this can’t be real . . . I’m not here . . . I’m not seeing this. . . .”

The seven-member crew also talked briefly with President Reagan on their last day in orbit. The President told the astronauts, “We saw a lot of human ingenuity at work” in the unsuccessful effort to rescue a stranded satellite.

‘Could Use Your Help’

Reagan also implored Garn to return to Earth in time to support his budget in the Senate.

“You are doing a fine job up there, but I could use your help down here right now in getting the federal budget under control and arranging assistance for some people fighting for their freedom in Central America,” Reagan told Garn.

“I’ve missed you, but I’ll be back on Tuesday,” Garn responded. “I’m well aware of the vote on Nicaraguan aid on Tuesday night and I’ll be voting just the way you’d like me to when I get back.”

Would Prefer Space

But when asked during the press conference if he would rather be an astronaut than a senator, Garn said:

“That is one of the easiest questions I’ve ever had to answer.” If he were 10 years younger, he said, “I would choose to be a working astronaut over being a senator so fast it would make your head swim.”

The Discovery is set to land at the Kennedy spaceport at 4:17 a.m. PST Friday, ending the 16th flight in the shuttle program.

Garn, who chairs the Senate subcommittee that oversees the budget of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, took part in experiments to understand the effect of weightlessness on the human body. NASA officials had indicated that Garn’s contribution could be enhanced if he succumbed to the ailment while conducting the experiments, and the senator said he did not let them down.

“I’ll be very honest with you,” he said in the press conference. “I didn’t feel good for two days.”