Former NASA Astronaut Says Getting Stopped by Police as a Black Man Is Scarier Than Going to Space

Leland Melvin has logged more than 565 hours in space, gone on two separate missions to help build the International Space Station and traveled around Earth at 17,500 miles per hour — but none of that compares to the fear and anxiety he feels while being pulled over by a police officer.

While speaking on a panel Monday about Black lives in the space industry as part of the 2020 Virtual Humans to Mars Summit, the former NASA astronaut, who is Black, revealed he always felt apprehensive about interacting with cops due to the color of his skin.

“I’ve been on this rocket with millions of pounds of thrust and not once was I afraid of going to space,” Melvin. “It’s when I’ve been stopped by police officers that I didn’t even know … I was starting to sweat and just holding the steering wheel really hard.”

“Every father in the Black community has a conversation with their son to tell them that if you get stopped by an officer… you assume the position, which is 10-2 [hands on the wheel], look straight ahead,” he continued. “You tell the officer, you know, you’re real respectful, you say you’re reaching for your obvious things.”