Astronautics

The space is a little different than the earth. First of all, to keep from floating away, you must use foot-loops or straps while sitting on the seat. This holds you on to the seat, sort of like a seat belt. Secondly, the space bathroom uses suction not water to flush.

A normal body will adapt to the abnormal environment of space in many ways. Immediately upon entering zero gravity, fluids in your legs and the lower part of your body move upwards towards your head. In fact, your face will feel and look swollen. Except for the occasional headache and congestion, astronauts are not bothered by this fluid shift. Some astronauts feel dizzy and have an upset stomach during the first few days of a space flight as they get used to zero gravity. This feeling usually goes away after three or four days. After a few days almost everyone is used to zero gravity and feels great. If you do not exercise, your bones and muscles will get weak.

We bring along several different types of food when we fly in space. Since we don't have a freezer, refrigerator, stove or microwave, most of the food has already been cooked, then freeze dried and vacuum packed (meaning the water and air has been taken out of it), or it is thermally stabilized (meaning treated and sealed in a package to prevent spoiling), much like camping food. We do not want food that makes crumbs in space since crumbs would float all over the place and that could clog up equipment.

The space station crews can ask mission control to send them shows that they can watch during dinner or off-duty time. They can also watch movies on their laptops. They may bring books, music, and musical instruments with them. Some astronauts enjoy hobbies, such as drawing, photography and HAM radio. During missions, astronauts are very busy. The few hours of free time may also be spent looking out the window at the beautiful Earth below, listening to music, surfing the web or corresponding with friends and family back home.

The Space Shuttle orbits the Earth at an altitude of 120-300 miles. We fly the shuttle to the ISS where we dock and continue work on board the station. In the past we have taken the shuttle to the space station and we have used it to visit the hubble space telescope for on-orbit repairs. Today, from our orbit above the earth, we are in a good position to study the stars, study the earth, perform experiments, build and resupply the ISS, and learn how to live and work in the absence of gravity.

Until a few years ago, we were not able to communicate easily with people on the ground outside of mission control. Now, we can send email to our friends and family directly and we can make phone calls using a hook-up through our computer. The phone connection is really clear. You would never know we were calling from space. Many astronauts carry pictures of their family with them on space missions.

When astronauts are not flying on a mission or training for a mission, they support other missions. There are many jobs on the ground required to support the design, preparation, training and flying of a space mission. Astronauts work in mission control (the 'voice' that communicates with astronauts in orbit), check out procedures and the checklists the crew in space will use, help verify the space station and vehicle software, develop procedures and tools to be used during spacewalks or robotic operations, help scientists in developing experiments that will be run in space and perform other jobs in support of ISS and vehicle flights.

Astronauts on the space station stay busy. There is a lot of work to operate the many science experiments on board. The crew also has to make sure that the station is in top shape, so they clean, check equipment, maintain and repair or replace broken equipment. Crew members also must exercise two hours each day to stay fit and keep their bones and muscles strong. Sometimes we need to do a spacewalk to work outside the station in our space suit. It's a tough and dangerous job but the view is terrific.

Astronauts are in constant training for space flight. The initial training involves learning about basic space station systems, space walking and operating the robotic arm. You continue this training while awaiting a mission assignment. Once assigned to a flight, specific training for your mission may take as long as three years. The length of training depends on how complicated the tasks are on your mission.

The space station travels through space at 17,500 miles per hour at an altitude of about 220 miles. We orbit the Earth about once every 90 minutes. During the orbit of the Earth we are in daylight for about 45 minutes and darkness for about 45 minutes. That means the sun will rise and set 16 times a day.

A very experienced astronaut who has flown every space vehicle from Gemini to the shuttle once said that if you are not just a little afraid, you do not know what is happening. Astronauts are well aware of the risks involved in space travel.

We carry first aid kits and some special medical equipment into space with us. We also are trained to take care of most minor and some major medical problems. There is not a doctor on most flights but all crew members are trained in basic first aid and CPR. We can talk to doctors on the ground if we need help. If someone gets very sick in space, we can make an emergency

trip back to earth.

I see human spaceflight moving ever-outward from earth. The logical sequence is earth orbit, the Moon, asteroids, Mars. We have so much to learn/invent at each step and there is no rush. It needs to be both driven and paced by technology and drawn by science, discovery and then business.

Believing and believing in are two different things. Our best telescopes have shown us that there is basically an unlimited number of planets in the universe. To think that earth is the only one where life could have developed is just self-importance.

Space is profound, endless, a textured black, a bottomless eternal bucket of untouchable velvet and non-twinkling stars.

You do not sleep that good. I mean, actually you do not want to sleep, it is too exciting to be here but the dreams themselves did not change in my case. Maybe the others have other experiences.

The science and technology of space travel and exploration is called astronautics.

The ISS missions, called expeditions, usually last about six months. There are three to six crew members on board at all times. A space shuttle crew is typically five to seven crew members. We have carried as few as two and as many as eight at one time, and space shuttle missions have been as short as two days and as long as 18 days.

One set of experiments that we are working on are experiments we do on ourselves, they are human experiments are living examples of that right now. Where he is covered with little pieces of computer and pumps and things that continuously monitor his blood pressure. It is actually beat to beat blood pressure and from that you can determine the cardiac work that your heart is putting out for whatever mode of exercise you happen to be doing. So that is one experiment we are doing in terms of the human life studies.