Initially drawn to the sky through the stars, astrophysicist Amber Straughn now flies through it as a private pilot. For as long as she can remember, Amber Straughn has always been drawn to anything in the sky. Her love of astronomy led her to become an astrophysicist. Straughn is the deputy project scientist for James Webb Space Telescope Science Communications.

Straughn recently fulfilled a lifelong dream to earn her private pilot's license. Her enthusiasm was contagious. Her husband Matt trained with her and also became a private pilot.

"He is very practical about flying and wants to get somewhere. I do it mostly because it's fun. I could just fly around in circles and be happy. We're a good team," said Straughn.

In August 2013, they took an hour-long introductory flight with an instructor in a Cessna 172 trainer aircraft with dual controls to see if they really wanted to pursue training. Straughn flew part of the way from Freeway Airport in Bowie, Maryland, to Lee Airport in Annapolis, Maryland, while her husband flew the return leg.

After each had their turn at the controls, they were both hooked. They signed up for lessons.

Obtaining a private pilot's license involves both ground school and flight lessons. The ground school provides the fundamental knowledge base and prepares the student to pass the Federal Aviation Administration's two-hour, written knowledge exam.

In the Washington, D.C. area, special training and additional tests are also required due to the complicated and restricted airspace in the area. They taught themselves with the help of some books and DVDs. She passed the written exam in February 2013.

Concurrent with their written studies, they both began flight lessons. The single most important item to any pilot is their log book. Pilots are required to log all flight time in a log book. Instructors and examiners approve certain flights and note passage of examinations by signing the log book.

On average, she took two to three lessons a week at Freeway Airport, in Bowie, Maryland, close to home and to Goddard. "I could go early before work and still be at my desk by 8:30 a.m.," said Straughn.

Lessons are typically an hour to an hour-and-a-half including pre-flight instruction and fueling, flight time and a post-flight brief about lessons learned. She trained in a Cessna 152, a two-seater, single engine aircraft. After logging about 20 hours of flight time with her instructor, he signed off in her log book that she was ready for her first solo flight on Nov. 12, 2013. Her instructor was listening on the radio, watching her.

"It was amazing. I did three takeoffs and landings by myself. It was so much fun, but also a little bit nerve-wracking when I realized after I took off that first time that I then had to land the plane by myself" said Straughn.

She walked out of the plane smiling. In general aviation, there is a tradition that after a pilot's first solo, the instructor cuts off the back of the pilot's T-shirt. Straughn was prepared. She had on another T-shirt. She still has the cut T-shirt.

Soloing means that the student has learned the fundamentals about controlling the plane including takeoffs and landings. The next big step, which she immediately started, is learning how to navigate, culminating in flying cross-country more than 50 nautical miles (about the same in statute miles).

"Initially, we navigate using charts, which we compare with visual references on the ground like a road or water," said Straughn. "Later, we learn to navigate by basic instruments using radio aides."

Once her instructor signed off on her cross-country training in her log book, Straughn was cleared. She flew her first solo cross-country in Dec. 2013, to Salisbury, Maryland and back, and then in Jan. 2013, she flew a second solo cross-country, stopping in Salisbury, Maryland; Ocean City, Maryland; Easton, Maryland and returning to Bowie.

The next step was passing the FAA written exam, which took several hours, in February 2013.

The final step was the check ride, which included an oral exam and a flight test on the same day. On March 5, 2013, at Easton Airport in Easton, Maryland, she and the FAA flight examiner conducted the oral exam, which consisted of four to five hours of questioning.

The examiner reviewed everything she had learned, from airport signage to calculating weight and balance on the airplane (the amount of weight and distribution of that weight on an airplane for safe flight), emergency procedures and more.

"Once the oral exam was over, he asked me if I was ready to fly," said Straughn. "I said I was very ready to fly." The flight examination consisted of several different specific types of takeoffs and landings, flight maneuvers, stalls and a demonstration that she could safely execute an emergency landing.

He then stamped and signed her log book stating that she was a private pilot and gave her a temporary certificate to be kept in her log book. The FAA later mailed the actual license.

"I couldn't believe I had actually done this after wanting to do it so long," said Straughn. Her husband, who was waiting for her back at their home airport, passed the next week.

The next month, the couple bought "Lulu," a 1977 Cessna 182, four-seater, single engine aircraft considered high-performance because of its more powerful, higher horsepower engine and controllable-pitch propeller.

It is a bigger, heavier plane with slightly different take-off and landing characteristics than their training plane. They needed an endorsement by a flight instructor before flying the high-performance airplane. After flying with an instructor for a few hours, both received endorsements in their log books. Lulu is housed at Freeway Airport in Bowie, Maryland.

"Lulu is older than me, but she flies great!" said Straughn.

"We try to fly a minimum of once every two weeks just to keep our skills up," said Straughn. "We go on fun, little trips to Cambridge, Maryland, for breakfast on Saturdays a lot."

Their first big trip together after they got their licenses was in April 2013 to First Flight Airport in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. One of their most fun trips was from here to New Hampshire via New York City.

"We flew right over the Hudson River at about 1,100 feet, below the tops of the buildings," said Straughn. "There is a lot of complicated airspace around New York City, but there is a special, visual-flight rules corridor where a general aviation pilot can fly below the 1,300 airspace floor, right above the Hudson in Manhattan."

For Christmas 2013, they flew eight hours, with one fuel stop, to Little Rock, Arkansas, where they are from and still have family. After taking family members for a ride, their 13-year-old niece decided that she may become the next pilot in the family.

"For me, learning to fly is an extension of my love for astronomy, for all things in the sky," said Straughn.