978-1-4222-3418-1

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r. Thomas Marshburn (pictured at left) was a college professor, but at this moment in the spring of 2013, he was a looong way from the class- room. Years earlier, he had spent many years studying hard to become a medical doctor. He also had a degree in physics. He had become a teacher to pass on what he had learned along the way. So why was he floating 200 miles (321 km) above the Earth, wearing a space suit and facing a pressure-packed situation? Because Marshburn was a scientist and an astronaut. As the Earth spun below him, Marshburn had to call on all of his skills to help save his fellow astronauts.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND airlock  a room on a space station from which astronauts can move from inside to outside the station and back ammonia  a gas used in refrigeration; can be deadly if inhaled

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