FUTURE ASTRONAUTS' BRIEFING

With former astronaut Ken Reightler, now Director of Space Operations for Lockheed Martin, speaking to a group of children at the Virginia Air & Space Center in Hampton, VA

Some of the questions Ken answered for the kids

How did you become an astronaut? 

I was selected for the astronaut program after I had been an aerospace engineer, naval aviator and a test pilot.  To me becoming an astronaut was a dream come true, a dream I.had since I was a little boy. But I didn’t know how someone became an astroanaut. I just knew that’s what I wanted to be.  

Some of you may want to become astronauts. But how do you do it? What courses should you take in school?   What major should you choose in college? The answer I give to many young people is this: 

Find something you really love. Something that really gets your attention and that you always want to learn more about. Find a subject that piques your curiosity and gets you excited. 

Now find a job where you can apply that knowledge. Put your passion into that job and do the best you possibly can. This is not just a recipe for becoming an astronaut, but it can help you become anything you want in life. 

What does it feel like to travel in space? 

The major sensation is weightlessness and floating around in the spacecraft. The flight into space is very short. Just about eight minutes. And those first few minutes can be violent. Vibrations and shaking! Like riding down a rough country road. There is a lot of noise outside, but it’s quiet inside the shuttle. 

Then you  watch the big boosters on the side of the shuttle drop away.  The spacecraft continues to accelerate, and you feel as if someone put a rock on the center of your chest.  It’s hard to breathe. You have to work to take every breath. The clouds disappear. The sky goes from light blue to dark blue. Suddenly are in a deep blackness filled with thousands of stars. It’s so peaceful and beautiful.  

Now the ride becomes much smoother and faster. You’re traveling at about 17,500 miles per hour. That's about five miles a second! But you feel just like you’re ascending in an elevator. You become weightless. I had experienced weightlessness for short periods when I was doing acrobatics in a plane. But it is not the same as being weightless for hours and days in space. 

After a few hours you feel your body adapting as fluids in your body shift around. Your nasal passages feel congested. But after several days you begin to feel at home in that weightless environment. You can float where you want to go.  I got some of my best sleep lying flat on the ceiling. You even start to have fun. But there’s work to be done. Experiments and scientific research.  But don’t put your screwdriver down or it could float away.  

Remember that you have to do all the same things you do here on earth. you have to sleep, eat, go to the bathroom.  When we go to Mars, that will be a 2-1/2 year trip. How do you pack a lunch box that is going to last that long?  On our flight we ate dehydrated foods, fried foods, some foods right out of the package. You get to choose your own menu. My favorite was shrimp cocktail.  

What was it like coming back to earth? 

It takes about an hour to descend after you hit the atmosphere and friction  slows you down. Rub your hands together as fast as you can. See how hot they become so quickly. Now  imagine air flowing over the spaceship at 17,500 mph. and think how much heat that must generate.. Outside the windows are covered with bright flames. It’s like being inside a big light bulb. 

When did you make your first flight into space? 

In 1991. We had to put a satellite in space to look at the upper atmosphere. The atmosphere is what protects the earth and the oxygen we breathe. It protects us from gamma rays from the sun. That satellite is still circling around above us today.

My second mission was very different. It was the first time that Russia and the United States, countries  that had traditionally been enemies, began to work together. A Russian cosmonaut and an American astronaut flew into space together. It took us a long time to get to the point these countries could cooperate with each other, but now amazing things have happened. Today we are very close partners in the international space station. 

Were you ever afraid during your space flights? 

There is always a little bit of fear in anything that you do is exciting, dangerous or difficult to do.  But fear can be a good thing. It can make you work harder and smarter. 

What are your favorite memories? 

          One I remember very well. I was a consultant to the people who made the movie Apollo 13. I took the actors through the basics of space flight. I even taught Tom Hanks how to land a spacecraft. He was pretty good.