André Kuipers' diary - Part 5: Training in the Soyuz

André Kuipers' diary - Part 5: Training in the Soyuz


8 - 14 januari 2004 I was still in the car, on my way to Star City from
Moscow Airport, when my boss called. He told me that my American colleague,
Bill McArthur, had been pulled out of the mission and replaced by Leroy
Chiao. That was quite a shock. Like Bill, I knew that something was going
on, but we had not expected this.

Fortunately, it is nothing serious. He is healthy, but for reasons of
medical procedure he has to remain grounded for six months. I called him and
asked how he was. He is taking it fairly well, partly because it simply
means waiting for another flight.


For the team, this change of crew is a drastic alteration. After all, the
three of us had been working together for some time. Over that time, you
create a bond, get to know each other and help each other. His replacement
is Leroy Chiao, a very capable astronaut. Quite a bit younger than Bill, but
very experienced nevertheless. Like me, Chiao will be flying in a Russian
Soyuz for the first time. That will mean training intensively in the weeks
and months ahead.



In last week's simulation, everything went wrong again of course. The
trainers made it as difficult as possible in order to knock us into shape
for all the emergency procedures. In the Space Station there was loss of
pressure and then, on top of that, fire broke out. We had to put on oxygen
masks and we tried to put out the imaginary fire, but it was so bad that we
had to evacuate the Station. Still wearing our masks, we then squeezed into
our spacesuits and crawled into the cramped Soyuz simulator for a pretended
flight back to Earth. Training of this type is very hard work because you
have to make such an effort while wearing your mask; because of the smoke,
you cannot switch on the ventilation for your spacesuit. As a result, you
sweat by the bucketful. It was a literal 'baptism of fire' for my new
colleague Chiao.



On Sunday, my trainer Igor Ivanovic gave me some extra training. I had
specially requested this. When working with the crew, you sometimes learn
things only in broad terms; I was keen to go through all the small details
again from the start and review the initial activities. In other words, I
wanted to link theory and practice: why do we take certain actions, and what
are the alternatives? Igor is a past master in the trade, a walking
encyclopaedia, so he was able to explain everything in fine detail.

The next day was devoted to normal training, dominated by video filming.
Video filming is important. You have to record things for the media and for
experiments. There are a number of different cameras on board and I have to
learn how to use all of them. Actually, it is a crash course in the art of
being a cameraman; we learn about light sources, the surroundings and even
editing. Of course, I will not have time for editing during the mission, but
I enjoyed learning how to do it.


On the mission, eighty percent of my time will be spent on Dutch and
European experiments. On Tuesday, some ESTEC colleagues who have prepared
these experiments came to Star City. Over the next few days, they will work
with the Russians in Star City on the procedures that I will use in space.
One of the scientists also arrived, and we carried out measurements for his
experiment. This is about the interaction between the eyes and the balance
mechanism. Later, these results will be compared with the measurements taken
under weightless conditions.
Finally, on Wednesday evening, I visited the American astronauts who are
staying here at Star City. We watched CNN together as President Bush
announced his plans for NASA. It sounds pretty good. He wants the
construction of the Space Station completed by 2010. That means that we
still have a good chance of getting a European astronaut up there for an
extended period in 2006. The plans would then take NASA to the Moon and
after that to Mars, in cooperation with other countries. For me it will
probably be just too late, but I would have loved to go to the Moon. The
desire for discovery is in the nature of humankind, and I am no exception.



--


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Jacques :-)

Editor: www.spacepatches.info

The plans would then take NASA to the Moon and after that to Mars, in
cooperation with other countries.

Interesting. I was surprised by this, given Bush's reputation for
unilateralism, and the difficulties which have beset multilateral
space missions in the past.

But sure enough, Bush's speech said:

We'll invite other nations to share the challenges and opportunities
of this new era of discovery. The vision I outline today is a
journey, not a race, and I call on other nations to join us on this
journey, in a spirit of cooperation and friendship.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0040114-3.html

"Jim Kingdon" wrote in message
news
The plans would then take NASA to the Moon and after that to Mars, in
cooperation with other countries.

Interesting. I was surprised by this, given Bush's reputation for
unilateralism, and the difficulties which have beset multilateral
space missions in the past.

Even as a non-Bush fan I'd say his reputation for unilateralism is
over-rated.

It's more a "what's best for America." Others are welcome to join us, but
we're not necessarily going to wait.



But sure enough, Bush's speech said:

We'll invite other nations to share the challenges and opportunities
of this new era of discovery. The vision I outline today is a
journey, not a race, and I call on other nations to join us on this
journey, in a spirit of cooperation and friendship.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0040114-3.html