Shuttle Astronaut Rhea Seddon to appear at this year's Reno Air Races

A native of Tennessee, Seddon has spent over 722 hours in space aboard three spacecraft. Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978, Dr. Seddon became an astronaut in August 1979. She made her first flight aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in 1985. This mission had the first unscheduled spacewalk in Shuttle history.

As if being an astronaut is not enough, Seddon is also a practicing doctor. When she's not up in space, she serves as an emergency room physician.

Her work at NASA has been in a variety of areas, including Shuttle medical kit and checklist, launch and landing rescue helicopter physician and membership of NASA's Aerospace Medical Advisory Committee.

In Seddon's most recent mission, which lasted nine-day in space, crewmembers performed experiments, which explored how animals and cells respond to microgravity and readapt to Earth's gravity on return.

With a total of six race classes and a star-studded air show, the NCAR Board of Directors is looking to make this year's event the best ever. NASA astronauts from every space program will serve as grand marshals and the United States Air Force Thunderbirds will present several shows, all courtesy of the Eldorado Hotel Casino and Silver Legacy Resort Casino. The 1999 Reno Air Races and Air Show are Sept. 16-19 at the Reno/Stead Airport. Ticket prices for the Air Races range from $8 general admission to a four-day, reserved seat season pass at $80. Pit Passes, Box Seats, VIP packages and sponsorships are also available. For ticket information, call (775) 972-6333.