Awaiting the arrival of eight very special guests, members of the media from across the nation gathered recently at Houston’s oldest joint-use civil/military airport.

From the moment Air Force One first poked its nose into the airspace above Ellington Field all eyes and lenses were on the presidential aircraft. As the commander in chief made his way off the aircraft and onto the airfield the commotion among the crowd grew stronger – they were all competing for the same shot after all.

In a matter of seconds the photo-op was over as the caravan of secret service vehicles carrying President George W. Bush drove off the airport. He would not be seen again for another three hours.

The president was in Houston to honor local veterans and to participate in a fundraiser for fellow Republican Sen. John Cornyn. The highlight of his visit, however, was an unanticipated visit with the crew of the Discovery Shuttle who had just landed on Earth the day before.

Several minutes before President Bush arrived at Ellington Field for his departure all seven members of the Discovery Shuttle and their families gathered underneath Air Force One.

The commander in chief then proceeded to salute each individual astronaut before having his picture taken with their families.

“I’ve never met him before so it was a wonderful experience,” said mission specialist Clayton Anderson, who is also the first Nebraskan to travel into space. “He is a wonderful man.”

It was then time for Air Force One to depart.

Hosting high profile visitors like the president and NASA’s astronauts is a fairly frequent occurrence at Ellington, according to airport manager Brian Rinehart.

He explains that the military presence at the airport adds an extra layer of security that commercial airports can’t offer.