From the 50-Yard Line to Low-Earth Orbit

Dec. 5, 2007 — -- In 1988, Leland Melvin was at training camp for the Dallas Cowboys, running to catch a pass from Danny White under the watchful eye of coach Tom Landry, when he felt his hamstring give out.

It was the end of his football career, but the start of his career as an astronaut. He launches Thursday as a mission specialist as part of a multinational crew of seven flying on Space Shuttle Atlantis in STS 122, an important mission in the assembly sequence to finish building the International Space Station.

Melvin, 43, is the son of schoolteachers Deems and Grace Melvin of Lynchburg, Va. He credits them with pushing him to do his best. He was a gifted athlete, but Melvin said his parents told him he could do more. And he was fortunate to have high school teachers who nurtured his love of chemistry.

College followed at the University of Richmond where Melvin majored in chemistry, and yes, played football. The wide receiver was drafted in 1986 by the Detroit Lions, but got sidelined by an injury. The Dallas Cowboys asked him to try out, which led to his fateful day on the field with a career-ending injury.

But Melvin had a backup plan, which he said is important for anyone who plans a career in professional sports.

"I see guys, all they want to do is play basketball. All they want to do is play football. 'I am going to be the next greatest NFL player, the next greatest NBA player,' and I say, 'Hey, that is cool. Go for it,'" Melvin told ABC News. "But I pulled a hamstring. I had an opportunity, but my hamstring gave out so I couldn't do that anymore.

"What's your fallback plan? That needs to be education. If they have that education ingrained in them, just the thought if this doesn't work out then this is my plan B. And that is what happened to me, I could not continue playing because of an injury and went back to grad school and continued on," he said.

Melvin continued on with a graduate degree in chemistry and went to work at the Langley Research Center. After nine years he applied to become an astronaut and made it into the astronaut corps on his first try.