Many elementary school-aged children, when asked what they would want to be when they grow up, would answer "astronaut." What could be more cool than seeing the universe in a shuttle that, years ago, would have looked like it came right out of a science fiction movie?

A young Mike Massimino would have answered "astronaut" had he been asked what he wanted to be as a student in Franklin Square's John Street Elementary School. Well, Massimino realized that wild dream and became an astronaut and is currently preparing for his first space flight on the space shuttle, due to blast off on Feb. 28.

While Massimino continues the rigorous training for his mission, the STS-109, an 11-day journey to upgrade and service the Hubble Telescope, he considers himself fortunate and hopes he doesn't wake up from his dream. "I feel very fortunate. The stuff I get to see and do on a daily basis is just incredible. The things we will get to do in a couple of days will fill up a whole year's worth of memories," he said.

The dream began when Massimino was growing up in Franklin Square. He was a good student who had many interests and made friends he still has to this day. He has fond memories and, along with his wife who is from New Hyde Park, visits Long Island twice a year to see friends, relatives and have some good Italian food. "All my childhood memories were from Franklin Square. All my best friends from that time I still stay in touch with and I love going back to visit," he said.

Come next month, though, Massimino will be making another visit of a different magnitude on his first space flight. He will be a part of the first servicing mission to the Hubble Telescope since December 1999. The purpose of the mission is to give the telescope new solar array, put in a new scientific instrument, a new power control unit, a new cooling system and replace a reaction wheel that helps Hubble point in the right direction.

Massimino's appointment to the upcoming STS-109 mission is a testament that dreams come true and hard work pays off. "I was one of those kids [who say they wanted to be an astronaut] so it can happen. Dreams can come true," he said. "The most important thing is to pursue [your dreams] with all of your energy as much as you can and it has to be something you enjoy and not give up. There are a lot of times when things seem impossible, but when you're following something that you really love and means a lot to you, it can happen."

It is fitting that he is bringing items into space with some symbolic meaning to him. Taking the trip with Massimino will be a T-shirt from the John Street School and a banner from H. Frank Carey High School, where Massimino attended, and a flag from Columbia University. He will also be bringing pins, flags and posters honoring the New York City police officers and firefighters who were killed on Sept. 11 and a John Franco Mets jersey.

It's only natural Massimino became a big Mets fan. He grew up within a half hour from Shea Stadium and was born in 1962, the same year the New York Mets came into existence. Seven years later, 1969 was an eventful year. The Amazin' Mets won their first ever World Series and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to land on the moon. Since then, Massimino's love for the Mets and the space program only grew stronger. "I have a lot of good memories of going to Mets games as a kid and watching the Mets," he said.

Massimino remembers the day when America's astronauts took a giant leap for mankind. From there, his interest in astronauts and space flight took off. That October, Massimino even dressed as an astronaut for Halloween. "That really caught my attention when the Apollo missions were going on," he said. "I remember seeing the first pictures from the moon, and when they walked on the moon, I remember my folks letting me stay up to watch it. At that point, it seemed like being an astronaut was a really cool job and it looked like the kind of thing that would be a cool thing to do with your life."

Following graduation from Carey, Massimino earned his B.S. degree from Columbia University. He then went to work for IBM as a systems engineer for two years before entering graduate school at MIT, where he conducted research on human operator control of space robotics systems. While a student, he worked during the summer of 1987 as a general engineer at NASA Headquarters. Eventually, in 1996, he was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA.

Now, Massimino feels extremely fortunate to be given the opportunity to be an astronaut. Only a month before the flight, his adrenaline has begun to flow as he is experiencing the excitement of preparing to go into space for the first time. "We don't have that much more time to get ready," he said, adding that he has been training for a year and a half and is in his last stages of preparation.

When he comes back from the mission, Massimino will not only be a more experienced astronaut, holding the honor of being part of the history of American space flight, but spring training will be in full swing with the promise of another Mets season on the horizon.