People have been complaining about the length of the posts.
The experience of being an astronaut is hard to convey concisely.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A Natural Phenomenon
The recent crash of the Air France flight over the Atlantic reminds all of us about the dangers of air and space travel. Those poor people on that plane might have died mid-air, or maybe the plane broke apart slowly, and they survived even after being in the water for a while.
I saw an article listing the number of bodies that have been recovered; it said something like they’ve found 11 men, 8 women, and 1 or 2 that could not be identified (because of all the damage the salt water had done to the bodies over the course of those days in the ocean).
It’s amazing to think that in just over 100 years we went from strapping wooden wings on our arms and struggled to try to get off the ground, to now being able to blast off into the heavens or traverse the globe at 700 miles an hour. Just recently I traveled to Hawaii from Seattle and was amazed at the sights of the Earth’s curvature and brightness and glowing sunset above the clouds.
And while those unfortunate passengers on the Air France plane met their untimely ends in the Atlantic, perhaps generations from now their descendants could be among those to perish in an accident on a commercial space flight.
Though if they did, it would be groundbreaking. We learned the other day that there’s no record of anything actually dying in space. Many of the NASA scientists don’t know if it’s even possible for something to die. The deaths that have occurred over the years happened far too close to the gravitational pull of Earth for any conclusive study.
The administrators take every precaution to ensure our survival even in the event of an accident. They spare no expense to prevent anyone from dying in space. I imagine this has to do with the possibility of, as many scholars believe, gravity being the root cause of rigor mortis.
We’ve been having many discussions about men and women astronauts. The illusion of equality has never been more evident than in the space program. That’s not to say that there isn’t a distinct effort to bring equity through the selection of astronauts, because we all know there have been female astronauts.
Men and women have different reactions to the conditions of space. For men, it’s been proven time and time again that the anti-gravity allows the cartilage in the vertebrae to relax, and if a male astronaut’s height were to be measured in space, he’d likely be 3 to 4 inches taller than on the ground. Female astronauts experience the same height differential, but many also suffer from acute uterine reversal. *
If I had the chance to be 3 to 4 inches taller here on Earth, I’d probably take it. I’m sure it would make back seats and airline rides (and shuttle flights for that matter) a little more uncomfortable, and of course additional pants difficulties, but its been proven that tall people have authority and garner respect, and on average earn more.
One of my co-workers at my day job is a few inches taller than I am, and his presence looms over me even when it shouldn’t, and I know at least three guys in my astronaut class to have been stricken with the nickname of “Shortstop.”
Women don’t seem to have the same hang-ups around height. I don’t think there was a single girl in my high school class taller than 5’ 5”. Tall women can be scary, and intimidating. One of the instructors at flight school is a tall, striking blonde woman, and because she’s taller than many of the students, far too many of us are too scared to ever take on her challenges in the classroom.
Our participation grades are lacking because of it.
* = Babies come in, not out.
I saw an article listing the number of bodies that have been recovered; it said something like they’ve found 11 men, 8 women, and 1 or 2 that could not be identified (because of all the damage the salt water had done to the bodies over the course of those days in the ocean).
It’s amazing to think that in just over 100 years we went from strapping wooden wings on our arms and struggled to try to get off the ground, to now being able to blast off into the heavens or traverse the globe at 700 miles an hour. Just recently I traveled to Hawaii from Seattle and was amazed at the sights of the Earth’s curvature and brightness and glowing sunset above the clouds.
And while those unfortunate passengers on the Air France plane met their untimely ends in the Atlantic, perhaps generations from now their descendants could be among those to perish in an accident on a commercial space flight.
Though if they did, it would be groundbreaking. We learned the other day that there’s no record of anything actually dying in space. Many of the NASA scientists don’t know if it’s even possible for something to die. The deaths that have occurred over the years happened far too close to the gravitational pull of Earth for any conclusive study.
The administrators take every precaution to ensure our survival even in the event of an accident. They spare no expense to prevent anyone from dying in space. I imagine this has to do with the possibility of, as many scholars believe, gravity being the root cause of rigor mortis.
We’ve been having many discussions about men and women astronauts. The illusion of equality has never been more evident than in the space program. That’s not to say that there isn’t a distinct effort to bring equity through the selection of astronauts, because we all know there have been female astronauts.
Men and women have different reactions to the conditions of space. For men, it’s been proven time and time again that the anti-gravity allows the cartilage in the vertebrae to relax, and if a male astronaut’s height were to be measured in space, he’d likely be 3 to 4 inches taller than on the ground. Female astronauts experience the same height differential, but many also suffer from acute uterine reversal. *
If I had the chance to be 3 to 4 inches taller here on Earth, I’d probably take it. I’m sure it would make back seats and airline rides (and shuttle flights for that matter) a little more uncomfortable, and of course additional pants difficulties, but its been proven that tall people have authority and garner respect, and on average earn more.
One of my co-workers at my day job is a few inches taller than I am, and his presence looms over me even when it shouldn’t, and I know at least three guys in my astronaut class to have been stricken with the nickname of “Shortstop.”
Women don’t seem to have the same hang-ups around height. I don’t think there was a single girl in my high school class taller than 5’ 5”. Tall women can be scary, and intimidating. One of the instructors at flight school is a tall, striking blonde woman, and because she’s taller than many of the students, far too many of us are too scared to ever take on her challenges in the classroom.
Our participation grades are lacking because of it.
* = Babies come in, not out.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Freeze Dried
Ever since the age of 4, I knew I wanted to be an astronaut. I remember my parents making sure I saw the space shuttle take off, no matter what time that was here on the west coast (which meant often staying up late or getting up very early).
There was something about that machine that drew me in. It was the future but it was real right then. I remember in 1st grade, making a paper mache Space Shuttle to accompany my report for the Science Fair, and also of course getting the Lego Space Shuttle set for Christmas that year. I also found that Space Shuttle under my parent’s bed a few weeks before Christmas, and so when Santa gave it to me Christmas morning, well… the jig was up.
But that didn’t stop the dream.
I guess it was always the driving factor in my life: to get to space; to be an astronaut. Despite all the setbacks, I never forgot what it was like to see the shuttle lift-off and just be amazed.
This is why it’s so exciting to be able to report to you today that I am entering a training regimen to be a part of the Astronaut program.
I’ve already been put through a barrage of phone (and a couple in-person) interviews; applications, inspections (physical and mental) and I’ve made it this far. I am an astronaut candidate.
I don’t know what lies ahead (well not really, I do know, I just don’t know what it’ll be like when we get there). But it promises to be exciting.
Just tonight I was leaving a dinner gathering, I had to drop some more letters of recommendation in the post office box, and after that I felt like having a coffee, so I headed up to the West Side Starbucks.
I got up to the window after ordering, and struck up a conversation with the nice gal inside. She had on some kind of white polo shirt but also was wearing a tie I think under her Starbucks smock.
In typical Starbucks fashion, she asked me what I was up to tonight. Previously, in another Starbucks adventure, this particular window person and I discussed how I had re-arranged my apartment that afternoon (which was Memorial Day if I remember correctly) and how she had done some yoga.
My answer tonight however, seemed to strike a chord with her. She got really enthusiastic when I mentioned the astronaut paperwork I just sent in (more than the time where I told her about the furniture) and we eventually got to exchanging names (Hi Felicity).
She was kind enough to offer to pick up my drink (Venti Vanilla Iced Coffee with Cream) for me, to which I of course said “oh no, that’s alright” and she said she insisted, so I let it be. If this had been a date, I probably would have actually just paid for it and not let her done that, you know that sometimes-awkward dance of who pays for things, but this was kind of a weird situation.
NASA regulations say we can’t take gifts for being Astronauts, or even astronaut-candidates. It’s similar to the ethics rules at my job too. She told me it was ok, it wasn’t a gift, she said I could buy her a cup of coffee next time. I laughed, I think that’ll be fine by the regulators.
Part of my training of course, is the historical portion. That line of information you don’t get by watching Apollo 13 or The Right Stuff (though let’s be honest here, I can’t think of a single astronaut who hasn’t seen those movies about 9000 times). The briefing we got last week talked about the dietary habits of the astronauts on the last shuttle mission to fix the Hubble last month. We’ve all seen the freeze-dried food at science museums, but did you know astronauts are allowed to have actual coffee in space?
Coffee is known to provide several positive health effects in space; including helping restrict the blood vessels (thanks, caffeine) that otherwise would be almost too relaxed (thanks, zero gravity). It also helps increase blood flow to the stomach, which aids in digesting the kind of weird food astronauts have to eat.
In our dietary prep, we were given some of the bulk foods to try (mostly to get used to them) and actually after having a glass of coffee they were a lot better.
Also astronauts get to have m & m’s but that’s mostly just to have something fun and colorful to throw at each other in zero-g.
There was something about that machine that drew me in. It was the future but it was real right then. I remember in 1st grade, making a paper mache Space Shuttle to accompany my report for the Science Fair, and also of course getting the Lego Space Shuttle set for Christmas that year. I also found that Space Shuttle under my parent’s bed a few weeks before Christmas, and so when Santa gave it to me Christmas morning, well… the jig was up.
But that didn’t stop the dream.
I guess it was always the driving factor in my life: to get to space; to be an astronaut. Despite all the setbacks, I never forgot what it was like to see the shuttle lift-off and just be amazed.
This is why it’s so exciting to be able to report to you today that I am entering a training regimen to be a part of the Astronaut program.
I’ve already been put through a barrage of phone (and a couple in-person) interviews; applications, inspections (physical and mental) and I’ve made it this far. I am an astronaut candidate.
I don’t know what lies ahead (well not really, I do know, I just don’t know what it’ll be like when we get there). But it promises to be exciting.
Just tonight I was leaving a dinner gathering, I had to drop some more letters of recommendation in the post office box, and after that I felt like having a coffee, so I headed up to the West Side Starbucks.
I got up to the window after ordering, and struck up a conversation with the nice gal inside. She had on some kind of white polo shirt but also was wearing a tie I think under her Starbucks smock.
In typical Starbucks fashion, she asked me what I was up to tonight. Previously, in another Starbucks adventure, this particular window person and I discussed how I had re-arranged my apartment that afternoon (which was Memorial Day if I remember correctly) and how she had done some yoga.
My answer tonight however, seemed to strike a chord with her. She got really enthusiastic when I mentioned the astronaut paperwork I just sent in (more than the time where I told her about the furniture) and we eventually got to exchanging names (Hi Felicity).
She was kind enough to offer to pick up my drink (Venti Vanilla Iced Coffee with Cream) for me, to which I of course said “oh no, that’s alright” and she said she insisted, so I let it be. If this had been a date, I probably would have actually just paid for it and not let her done that, you know that sometimes-awkward dance of who pays for things, but this was kind of a weird situation.
NASA regulations say we can’t take gifts for being Astronauts, or even astronaut-candidates. It’s similar to the ethics rules at my job too. She told me it was ok, it wasn’t a gift, she said I could buy her a cup of coffee next time. I laughed, I think that’ll be fine by the regulators.
Part of my training of course, is the historical portion. That line of information you don’t get by watching Apollo 13 or The Right Stuff (though let’s be honest here, I can’t think of a single astronaut who hasn’t seen those movies about 9000 times). The briefing we got last week talked about the dietary habits of the astronauts on the last shuttle mission to fix the Hubble last month. We’ve all seen the freeze-dried food at science museums, but did you know astronauts are allowed to have actual coffee in space?
Coffee is known to provide several positive health effects in space; including helping restrict the blood vessels (thanks, caffeine) that otherwise would be almost too relaxed (thanks, zero gravity). It also helps increase blood flow to the stomach, which aids in digesting the kind of weird food astronauts have to eat.
In our dietary prep, we were given some of the bulk foods to try (mostly to get used to them) and actually after having a glass of coffee they were a lot better.
Also astronauts get to have m & m’s but that’s mostly just to have something fun and colorful to throw at each other in zero-g.
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