Scott Altman missed going to the United States Air Force Academy by an inch and a half. But he didn’t give up. He dreamed of flying since he was a young boy growing up in Pekin and he wasn’t about to let a few inches ground him. He knew he would just have to find another way.

That ability to dream big and never give up would serve Altman well in his career as a United States Navy Captain, naval aviator, engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. Now retired from military service, he is a highly decorated pilot, earning the Navy Air Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, and Navy Achievement Medal, among other awards. Altman was a crew member on four space shuttle missions in the 1990s and early 2000s, two of which he was commander. He even enjoyed a short stint as a stunt pilot in the 1986 movie “Top Gun.”

Closer to home, Scott Altman Primary School (originally Sunset Hills Elementary School) was renamed for the local hero in 2010.

It all started in Pekin. “My parents reminded me that when I was three years old, I used to watch reruns of a show about a pilot called Sky King,” he recalled. “They said I turned to them once and said, ‘That’s what I want to do. I want to fly.’”

That ambition stuck with him. When he was in school, he checked out library books about flying and loved reading about World War II fighter pilots. The P-51 Mustang was his favorite airplane.

But before he could take to the sky, there was a lot of growing up and learning to do here in his hometown. The future test pilot and astronaut moved to town from Lincoln at the tender age of nine months. His parents, Fred and Sharon Altman, were both teachers in Pekin schools, so they made their home here until Altman was in third grade. The family moved away for a couple of years when his father got a job as principal of the school in Wenona. Then it was back to Pekin in sixth grade. He graduated as a valedictorian from Pekin Community High School in 1977.

High school was dominated by basketball. By his senior year at PCHS he was a starter on the varsity team under coach Marshall Stoner. The team had a 16 and 11 record. 

“One of my proudest achievements in high school was playing basketball,” Altman said. “I loved playing and even got recruited by a couple of small schools, specifically Knox College.” His concern with a small school was that he wanted to get an engineering degree from the Air Force Academy in Colorado.

Unfortunately, the height that served him well on the basketball court worked against him when he went for his Academy induction physical. When they measured his “sitting height,” he was an inch and a half over the acceptable standard.

He said he still wanted to fly but made the tough decision to study aeronautical engineering at the University of Illinois. Maybe then he could at least design and work on airplanes.

While studying at Illinois, Altman discovered that the U. S. Navy also has aviators. When he learned that the Navy’s maximum sitting height is 41 inches (well above his 39.5 inch) a new path opened. He signed up for the Navy’s officer candidate school, did basic training between his junior and senior years and set off for flight school after graduation.

Altman said his background in aeronautical engineering made him a candidate for Navy test pilot, which later opened the door to applying to become an astronaut.

“Being an astronaut was something I never really thought about growing up,” he said. “But as you move through different things, first was getting to fly, then I became a fighter pilot of F-14s, and from there, a test pilot.”

He didn’t make the cut the first time he applied to NASA. But in December 1994 he was accepted into Class 15 of astronauts, reporting to Houston in February 1995. After four shuttle flights and multiple technical and management assignments, he retired from NASA in 2010. His significant contributions were recognized in 2018 with his induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center. He spent a total of 51 days in space and traveled millions of miles orbiting the earth.

Looking back at his formative years in Pekin, Altman remembers “a real community spirit in Pekin, it was almost like a family in town.” He said he always felt safe and comfortable.

“I learned an awful lot about life and working together from playing basketball,” he said. “Everybody needs to do their job for anybody to be a success. That’s a lesson I’ve taken with me through my Navy career and in business today.”

Altman detasseled corn in the summer and delivered the morning edition of the Peoria Journal Star, thumping rolled-up newspapers onto doorsteps from his bike. He learned knots and survival skills in Scouting, and worked as a stock boy at JC Penney in the old Pekin Mall. That job paid a princely $3 per hour.

Today, Altman continues to push the limits of space as president of the Space Operating Group for ASRC Federal. The company provides scientists, engineers and technical professionals to, among others, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U. S. Space Force. He works with professionals across the country to advance American innovation in space.

Altman and his wife, Jill, live in Washington, DC. They have three children. He said they return to
Pekin as often as possible to visit with his father and get together with long-time friends who are still in the area.

Altman has advice for young people who dream of going into space or pursuing almost any other goal.

“Number one, put in the time, do your homework,” he said. “Try to find out as much as you can about as many different things as you can.

“Number two, be willing to do your best. Work hard to improve.”

He said the third bit of advice is the most important. “Never give up on your dreams. There are going to be roadblocks and things that get in the way. But it’s what you do next that’s most important.”

When you start in Pekin, the sky is truly the limit.