Pinky Nelson looks back fondly on three shuttle trips into space

As a member of the astronaut corps, George "Pinky" Nelson made three trips into space aboard three different crafts in the space shuttle fleet in the 1980s.
The Harvey Mudd College graduate who is now the director of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash. was among the first astronauts to walk in space.
On Friday, Nelson was among those who gathered at Cape Canaveral, Fla. to watch the launch of space shuttle Atlantis for what is the 135th and final mission of NASA's space shuttle program.
Nelson was in Florida with two of his grandsons, ages 10 and 14, "hoping they'll get to see what their grandpa did."
During the trip, Nelson said he saw others who have been part of the space shuttle program.
"It's a fun, happy reunion. But it's also bittersweet," he said.