Interview with an Astronaut – Mike Good NASA Astronaut, Michael T. Good (Colonel, USAF, RET.)I
Michael T. Good
Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000, Good reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Advanced Vehicles Branch and the Space Shuttle Branch. Good served on the crew of STS-125, the final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. He completed his second mission on the crew of STS-132 to the International Space Station and has logged a total of 24 days, 16 hours, 05 minutes and 11 seconds in space, and a total of 29 hours and 53 minutes on 4 spacewalks.
Q. What are the requirements to become an astronaut? What kind of training do astronauts have to go through?
A. The basic requirements to become an astronaut include a bachelor’s degree in engineering, science or math. An advanced degree is desirable and the quality of academic preparation is also important. You also need to be in good shape physically and medically in order to pass the NASA space flight physical. Astronauts go through training in mission simulators for launch and landing, practice spacewalks in a huge swimming pool, and fly NASA T-38s to improve our crew coordination and flying skills.
Q. When astronauts go up into outer space, what do they wear under their spacesuits?
A. Astronauts wear special long underwear with small tubes sewn into the garments. Our suits hook into the Space Shuttle and water flows over our body to help keep us cool inside the suit.
Q. How does the pressure in space affect you?
A. Inside the Space Shuttle, the pressure is the same as it is here on Earth, but outside the space ship there is no pressure at all – it is a vacuum! We have to wear a special space suit that is pressurized inside to keep us safe when we go outside.
Q. How do astronauts breathe in the space shuttle?
A. Astronauts wear special pressurized suits for launch and landing. Inside the suit and helmet we breathe pure oxygen. Most of the time on orbit though, we breath normally. The cabin is pressurized like an airplane with a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen.
Q. How and what do astronauts eat in space?
A. Eating in space is fun. Most of our food and drinks come in plastic pouches that we cut open and eat the food with a spoon. Drinks come with a special straw with a clamp on it so that the fluid doesn’t squirt out. It’s hard not to play with your food because everything floats.
Q. What would happen if an astronaut lost one of their tools while in space?
A. If a tool gets “dropped” or floats away out in space, eventually it will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up. Luckily we didn’t lose any tools on our trip to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. We had to be especially careful working inside the telescope not to lose any tools or even create any debris.
Q. Why do the astronauts on the space shuttle sleep in those cabinets? Why don’t they sleep in the seats that they take off in?
A. Sometimes astronauts sleep in those sleep stations (cabinets) if they are working separate shifts (if some are working while others need to sleep). On SM4 we all slept at the same time in sleeping bags that we tied off to the walls and ceiling of the Space Shuttle. It is more comfortable than trying to sleep in the seats. Also, we take down most of the seats while we are on orbit to make more room to float around and work.
Q. Does weightlessness in space have a long-term effect on the human body?
A. Yes, weightlessness in space causes the body to lose muscle mass and bone density since you are not using your bones and muscles as much. Luckily when you return to Earth your body adapts again to gravity and slowly builds back up the muscle and bone.
Q. When you are outside of the spaceship, how do you prevent being sucked into space?
A. When we go outside on space walks, we exit the Shuttle through a special airlock. The astronauts go into the airlock and close the hatch behind them to the Shuttle. Air is slowly vented out of the airlock until it is at vacuum. Then the astronauts can open the hatch to go outside without getting “sucked out” since the pressure in the airlock is the same as space – zero!
Q. If all the engines on a space shuttle broke down, and if they couldn’t be fixed, would the space shuttle just continue to orbit Earth? What would happen? Could it land?
A. Like a lost tool, the Space Shuttle would continue to orbit the Earth for a while, but would eventually reenter the Earth’s atmosphere. Unfortunately, it would take too long for the astronauts to survive because of the limited consumables on board the Shuttle (oxygen, water, food, and carbon dioxide “scrubbers”). However, NASA had a plan in case that happened to us while we were repairing Hubble. There was another Space Shuttle on the launch pad ready to come up and rescue us if we got stuck in space.
Q. Is there any kind of magnetic force in space? Would magnets stick together or would they come apart?
A. Yes, there are magnetic forces in space and magnets would stick together.
Q. How long does it take to actually get into space after the launch?
A. Believe it or not, the ride to space is only 8 ½ minutes! We go from zero to 17, 500 miles per hour and feel up to three times the normal force of gravity as we accelerate to orbital velocity.
Q. What shape must you be in, physically and mentally, to go into space?
A. You must be very healthy and in great physical and mental shape to fly in space. Spacewalks are especially demanding as you work against the pressure and stiffness of the space suit for up to 8 hours. During that time all you get to drink is about a quart of water and there is no food inside the space suit. It is equally demanding mentally as you must keep your focus at all times in the unforgiving environment of space.
Q. Why do astronauts wear orange jump suits into space?
A. The orange suits that astronauts wear during launch and landing are special pressure suits. These suits protect the astronauts from a loss of pressure inside the cabin in case of emergency.
Q. How many languages do astronauts need to speak if going to the international space station?
A. The primary language on the International Space Station is English, but all astronauts also learn Russian so we can communicate with our Russian crewmates and ground controllers. It is particularly important to be able to speak and understand Russian if you are flying up and down on the Russian Soyuz rocket.
Q. How heavy are the space suits?
A. The white space suits (EMUs or Extravehicular Mobility Units) that we wear for space walks weigh about 250 pounds on Earth. We actually can barely stand up in them on Earth and cannot even walk in them. In space they are weightless and float with us as they protect us from the vacuum of space.
Q. How many astronauts are aboard a normal mission and what roles do they serve?
A. We had 7 astronauts on the Space Shuttle Atlantis for the Hubble Servicing Mission. During flight, the commander has onboard responsibility for the vehicle, crew, mission success and safety of flight. The pilot assists the commander in controlling and operating the vehicle. Mission specialist astronauts work with the commander and the pilot and have overall responsibility for coordinating operations in the following areas: systems, crew activity planning, consumables usage, and experiment/payload operations. Mission specialists perform extravehicular activities (EVAs), or space walks, operate the remote manipulator system, and are responsible for payloads and specific experiment operations.
Michael T. Good
Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000, Good reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Advanced Vehicles Branch and the Space Shuttle Branch. Good served on the crew of STS-125, the final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. He completed his second mission on the crew of STS-132 to the International Space Station and has logged a total of 24 days, 16 hours, 05 minutes and 11 seconds in space, and a total of 29 hours and 53 minutes on 4 spacewalks.
Q. What are the requirements to become an astronaut? What kind of training do astronauts have to go through?
A. The basic requirements to become an astronaut include a bachelor’s degree in engineering, science or math. An advanced degree is desirable and the quality of academic preparation is also important. You also need to be in good shape physically and medically in order to pass the NASA space flight physical. Astronauts go through training in mission simulators for launch and landing, practice spacewalks in a huge swimming pool, and fly NASA T-38s to improve our crew coordination and flying skills.
Q. When astronauts go up into outer space, what do they wear under their spacesuits?
A. Astronauts wear special long underwear with small tubes sewn into the garments. Our suits hook into the Space Shuttle and water flows over our body to help keep us cool inside the suit.
Q. How does the pressure in space affect you?
A. Inside the Space Shuttle, the pressure is the same as it is here on Earth, but outside the space ship there is no pressure at all – it is a vacuum! We have to wear a special space suit that is pressurized inside to keep us safe when we go outside.
Q. How do astronauts breathe in the space shuttle?
A. Astronauts wear special pressurized suits for launch and landing. Inside the suit and helmet we breathe pure oxygen. Most of the time on orbit though, we breath normally. The cabin is pressurized like an airplane with a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen.
Q. How and what do astronauts eat in space?
A. Eating in space is fun. Most of our food and drinks come in plastic pouches that we cut open and eat the food with a spoon. Drinks come with a special straw with a clamp on it so that the fluid doesn’t squirt out. It’s hard not to play with your food because everything floats.
Q. What would happen if an astronaut lost one of their tools while in space?
A. If a tool gets “dropped” or floats away out in space, eventually it will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up. Luckily we didn’t lose any tools on our trip to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. We had to be especially careful working inside the telescope not to lose any tools or even create any debris.
Q. Why do the astronauts on the space shuttle sleep in those cabinets? Why don’t they sleep in the seats that they take off in?
A. Sometimes astronauts sleep in those sleep stations (cabinets) if they are working separate shifts (if some are working while others need to sleep). On SM4 we all slept at the same time in sleeping bags that we tied off to the walls and ceiling of the Space Shuttle. It is more comfortable than trying to sleep in the seats. Also, we take down most of the seats while we are on orbit to make more room to float around and work.
Q. Does weightlessness in space have a long-term effect on the human body?
A. Yes, weightlessness in space causes the body to lose muscle mass and bone density since you are not using your bones and muscles as much. Luckily when you return to Earth your body adapts again to gravity and slowly builds back up the muscle and bone.
Q. When you are outside of the spaceship, how do you prevent being sucked into space?
A. When we go outside on space walks, we exit the Shuttle through a special airlock. The astronauts go into the airlock and close the hatch behind them to the Shuttle. Air is slowly vented out of the airlock until it is at vacuum. Then the astronauts can open the hatch to go outside without getting “sucked out” since the pressure in the airlock is the same as space – zero!
Q. If all the engines on a space shuttle broke down, and if they couldn’t be fixed, would the space shuttle just continue to orbit Earth? What would happen? Could it land?
A. Like a lost tool, the Space Shuttle would continue to orbit the Earth for a while, but would eventually reenter the Earth’s atmosphere. Unfortunately, it would take too long for the astronauts to survive because of the limited consumables on board the Shuttle (oxygen, water, food, and carbon dioxide “scrubbers”). However, NASA had a plan in case that happened to us while we were repairing Hubble. There was another Space Shuttle on the launch pad ready to come up and rescue us if we got stuck in space.
Q. Is there any kind of magnetic force in space? Would magnets stick together or would they come apart?
A. Yes, there are magnetic forces in space and magnets would stick together.
Q. How long does it take to actually get into space after the launch?
A. Believe it or not, the ride to space is only 8 ½ minutes! We go from zero to 17, 500 miles per hour and feel up to three times the normal force of gravity as we accelerate to orbital velocity.
Q. What shape must you be in, physically and mentally, to go into space?
A. You must be very healthy and in great physical and mental shape to fly in space. Spacewalks are especially demanding as you work against the pressure and stiffness of the space suit for up to 8 hours. During that time all you get to drink is about a quart of water and there is no food inside the space suit. It is equally demanding mentally as you must keep your focus at all times in the unforgiving environment of space.
Q. Why do astronauts wear orange jump suits into space?
A. The orange suits that astronauts wear during launch and landing are special pressure suits. These suits protect the astronauts from a loss of pressure inside the cabin in case of emergency.
Q. How many languages do astronauts need to speak if going to the international space station?
A. The primary language on the International Space Station is English, but all astronauts also learn Russian so we can communicate with our Russian crewmates and ground controllers. It is particularly important to be able to speak and understand Russian if you are flying up and down on the Russian Soyuz rocket.
Q. How heavy are the space suits?
A. The white space suits (EMUs or Extravehicular Mobility Units) that we wear for space walks weigh about 250 pounds on Earth. We actually can barely stand up in them on Earth and cannot even walk in them. In space they are weightless and float with us as they protect us from the vacuum of space.
Q. How many astronauts are aboard a normal mission and what roles do they serve?
A. We had 7 astronauts on the Space Shuttle Atlantis for the Hubble Servicing Mission. During flight, the commander has onboard responsibility for the vehicle, crew, mission success and safety of flight. The pilot assists the commander in controlling and operating the vehicle. Mission specialist astronauts work with the commander and the pilot and have overall responsibility for coordinating operations in the following areas: systems, crew activity planning, consumables usage, and experiment/payload operations. Mission specialists perform extravehicular activities (EVAs), or space walks, operate the remote manipulator system, and are responsible for payloads and specific experiment operations.