India, Aug. 2 -- Nearly three decades ago, a friend excitedly called to tell me our fellow Assamese American, Jhuma, had gotten engaged.to an astronaut.

"Is he Assamese?" I asked.

"How many Assamese astronauts do you know?"

Good point. None. Like many of us second-generation Assamese born and raised on US shores, hers would be a blended marriage and, eventually, family.

On Friday, Aug 1, at 11.43 am, the husband of Renita Saikia, my lifelong friend I've only ever called Jhuma, soared into space as a member of NASA's Crew-11, on a six- to eight-month mission. This week, I joined a few dozen of their family and friends at the Kennedy Space Center to wish Mike Fincke well. We began with a "wave across" staged in a parking lot, a rope sep...