Posts Tagged ‘Astronaut’

Endurance, a biography by Scott Kelly (co-written with Margaret Lazarus Dean), pivots between his yearlong mission aboard the International Space Station and his unlikely evolution from a precocious twin into a veteran Navy test pilot and finally an astronaut.

The parallel narrative begins with Kelly’s childhood—he and his brother growing up with parents, both police officers, and both fond of drinking—and Kelly soon being left behind academically by his more studious sibling. From early in his time at school, Kelly found himself unable to focus in a classroom and barely making passing grades. His apathy to academics continued until college where he began to realize he had to find a path for himself; however, it was only upon reading The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe, that Kelly found a goal that succeeding in motivating him. The book goes on to chronicle the difficult obstacles he manages to overcome, from getting into the right college, to entering the military as a Naval officer, being trained as a Naval pilot, and ultimately entering the NASA Astronaut Corps. The aspect of his transformation I found fascinating was how a consistently apathetic student managed to turn his life around and ultimately fly the space shuttle and crew the ISS. That a key book could serve as such a powerful catalyst makes me wonder how many other potential astronauts, artists, scientists, or inspirational leaders lead lives of mediocrity just because they never encountered the right set of circumstances to unlock their latent passion and skills.

Kelly’s astronaut career includes multiple space shuttle flights and ISS missions. His career in space culminated recently with the well-publicized yearlong mission (actually 342 days in space, launching on 27 March 2015 and landing on March 2, 2016) on the ISS during which Kelly underwent extensive testing (most of it self-administered, including taking his own blood samples) as his Earth-bound twin (and fellow astronaut), Mark, was subjected to parallel testing for comparison. While I’ve read other accounts of ISS missions, Kelly’s year in space is the closest experience yet to what a long-duration mission to Mars or other solar system destinations might be like. There have been (and continue to be) “Earth-analogue” missions that attempt to simulate a long-duration space journey here on Earth, such as NASA’s HI-SEAS missions in Hawaii, PMAS in Poland, NEEMO (undersea laboratory), and even the well-known Biosphere 2 in Arizona. However, the year Kelly spends in space exposed him to trials and tribulations only space can offer: the reality only thin metal walls and proto-type life-support equipment separate life from death, the undeniable isolation (no one can walk away from a space station), and all the physiological effects that go along with a “zero-g” (microgravity) environment.

I find the seemingly trivial aspects of space travel fascinating, and in that respect, Endurance delivers. Astronauts experience a host of potentially serious conditions ranging from bone density loss to eyesight damage to persistent accumulation of body fluids in their head and sinuses. One particular challenge faced by Kelly and other ISS crew was fluctuating levels of carbon dioxide caused by changing crew sizes and the two temperamental “Seedra” devices (for CDRA, carbon dioxide removal assembly) which tended to break down unexpectedly requiring difficult repairs. As Kelly explains, even the simplest work is complicated in space where tools don’t stay where you put them unless stuck to one of the many  velcro tags placed around the ISS. Items that do manage to float away can remain missing for months at a time. In zero-g, there are no showers, no spitting, no falling tears, not even a “normal” pee, since liquids, just like solid objects, don’t fall away. One aspect I didn’t consider until now is that in zero-g, a person can’t really relax as they would on Earth—he/she can’t sit down or lie down since there is no “down” and no gravity to hold them there anyway. Viewed another way, you’re always relaxed in zero-g (at least in the sense of not having to expend any energy to counter gravity). But Kelly missed these postures, and I suspect I would, too. One’s experience in space is revealed by the grace with which one moves about. All a seasoned astronaut needs to use are fingers and toes applying just enough force to glide along the desired trajectory without knocking into the ever-present equipment. Simply remaining in place is accomplished the same way, often with a toe hooked about a rail installed just for that purpose.

Kelly’s involvement with the Russian Space Program intrigued me. As he transitioned from a Space Shuttle pilot to an ISS crew member, he spent quite a bit of time working in Russia, at Star City, the Russian version of the Johnson Space Center, and at Baikonur, Russia’s launch facility for its Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. Kelly’s accounts of the Russian cosmonauts, their training programs, in which he and other astronauts participate, and their habits and traditions related to space travel (one such tradition involves mild desecration of a truck tire) provide insight into a major U.S. partner in space exploration. The international aspect of America’s endeavors in space cannot be understated, and as Kelly spends his year aboard the ISS, crews come and go with members representing many countries all working together towards one unified goal—exploring space, and extending humanity’s presence beyond its birthplace. Almost without exception, crew members treat one another as good friends, almost to the point of constituting a family forged by having lived and worked together in space. For me, this may be the most important lesson provided by Kelly’s experiences—the ISS demonstrates what humanity can achieve at its best, when differences and prejudices fall away like a first stage burning up in the atmosphere, leaving the precious human cargo to soar beyond.






My family and I visited the California Science Center this weekend to see the IMAX movie “A Beautiful Planet” (3-D) and space shuttle Endeavor.

For someone who’s spent a lot of time watching You Tube videos of the International Space Station (ISS) and looking at remote imagery of Earth, A Beautiful Planet (ABP) didn’t provide me with a lot of new material. However, for kids or those unfamiliar with the ISS and its amazing views, it’s well worth the admission price. One thing I didn’t get from the You Tube videos was the sense of mission crews A Beautiful Planetcoming and going. ABP conveys the emotion of these periodic welcome aboard and subsequent farewell events on the ISS. You can really feel the camaraderie among all the astronauts from various countries as they joyfully greet each arriving crew. ABP captures many day-to-day experiences aboard the ISS such as a Christmas celebration, how to drink expresso, shampooing hair, sleeping, unpacking, and other mundane, yet delightfully zero-gravity, activities (including a fun scene involving a bag of citrus fruit intent on escaping). As its title would suggest, ABP also spends quite a bit of time focused on the Earth below. While the imagery of continents, oceans, and weather were beautiful and interesting (especially the part about storms), I wish the resolution had been better (to be fair, I believe the astronauts were limited in terms of the camera equipment they could use). The film excelled at displaying various locations as viewed from roughly 258 miles (416 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface, including day and night imagery. The final message ABP delivers is an environmental one. According to one astronaut speaking in the film, the concept of “spaceship Earth” becomes a literal truth for those lucky enough to see Earth from space. I only wish more of us could share that experience!

After the movie, we moved on to the space shuttle Endeavor exhibit. Endeavor didn’t disappoint, even on a second viewing, although my kids might not agree (my son had

more fun in the “Space Rollercoaster” multisensory, motion-based simulator). Space shuttle photos and videos just can’t convey the sense of power and grace you feel standing underneath Endeavor. The Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs), in particular, are a marvel of engineering IMO. But even examining the shuttle’s scarred heat tiles is interesting. The

Center is gathering funds for construction of a permanent exhibit where Endeavor will be in full, vertical launch position (a “full shuttle stack”) with the twin solid-rocket boosters and the external tank (currently parked just outside the exhibit building). I look forward to


Planned final exhibit

seeing this amazing spacecraft in its new display configuration someday. Even as-is, though, if you’re in the area, it’s well worth a visit.

Do you have a favorite space exhibit? What’s your favorite part of the ISS? How much would you pay for a trip to orbit? Let me know in the comments!