Mike Melvill touched space, but friends remember the man who rescued a hummingbird | News

Mike Melvill will be remembered in history books as the world’s first commercial astronaut. Friends and family at his memorial Saturday chose instead to remember him as the gentle genius who once rescued a hummingbird.

Melvill, a Tehachapi resident, died March 19 at age 85. More than 100 people gathered to celebrate his life at the Stuart O. Witt Event Center at Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field.

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