Most people are probably familiar with the story by now: In June, two American astronauts were sent into space on an eight-day test mission aboard a new Boeing spacecraft. Now nearly three months later, NASA announcement That they will bring the astronauts back in a SpaceX Dragon capsule – which won’t arrive until February 2025 for the return flight.
Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Sunny” Williams, both veteran Navy pilots, boarded the Boeing Starliner capsule. First crewed flight June 5 on the International Space Station. But problems with helium leaks and thruster failures were later discovered and kept the astronauts from operating in space. test to determine if the Starliner could bring them back to Earth safely.
NASA has now said it will be safe for the couple to return to Earth next February SpaceX’s Crew DragonA setback for Starliner maker Boeing, was NASA tap Provided with SpaceX a decade ago Reliable transportation to and from the space station
While the astronauts’ plight elicited feelings of sympathy and pity, chemist and retired NASA astronaut Cady Coleman admits she felt something else: jealousy.
Coleman, author of Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Missions, Surprises, and Change, Flew twice on the Space Shuttle and spent nearly six months on the International Space Station. he to say Today, explained Host Shaun Rameswaram This is what astronauts dream of: More time in space. Their conversation below has been edited for length and clarity.
— Abhishay Arty, Senior Producer, Today, explained
Sean Rameswaram
How’s the place, Caddy?
Cady Coleman
I always have to take a breath and think about how to say it, but it’s like being transported to a different world. And I know I’m definitely still in this same universe – look down, see the world – but you’re really on the edge, so to speak. And I felt really fortunate to be one of the people who were the furthest away, meaning they were basically the closest we’d ever seen.
Sean Rameswaram
And while you were in space one of the most relevant things in our conversation today was the International Space Station.
Cady Coleman
I did, and I lived there for about six months. I really like it there. But that first visit, I mean, I used to practice spacewalking in our huge swimming pool where it’s 40 feet deep, about the size of a football field. And then you reach this primitive city in space. It was like being in Wonderland. Suni has already had two missions to the space station, this is his third. And Butch had a shuttle and then a station, and now he’s there. So they knew what they were coming to do.
This is one magical place. And I think what’s really meaningful is knowing that what you do out there matters. This brings us one step closer to going back to the moon and to Mars. And I don’t want to say it’s a fad, because I think it’s true.
Sean Rameswaram
Do you know these two astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams?
Cady Coleman
i do We all know each other. It’s like a big family. I came in 1992, Sunny and Butch a little later. I’m a little closer to Sunny than Butch, because we have a little more in common. But I did a lot of training with Butch in the T-38 aircraft that we could learn to fly. He and Suni are both test pilots, and I’m in the Air Force, but an Air Force chemist. So I had a lot to learn from each of them in terms of aviation. And Suni just has this really great attitude. Whether it’s organizing a neighborhood event or something at the Astronaut office or being in those kinds of situations, Suni has this very even-keeled but joyful way of living that is inspiring to me as a friend.
Sean Rameswaram
And so when you heard they weren’t coming back as soon as hoped, what was the first thing that went through your mind?
Cady Coleman
Definitely some jealousy…
Sean Rameswaram
Jealousy!
Cady Coleman
Yes!
Sean Rameswaram
amazing
Cady Coleman
I would imagine a lot of us. And at the same time, it’s definitely time for them to fly again. They are very patient. So it’s not like, “Oh, it could be mine.” It’s a bit more worrisome because I really loved working there and I think it’s a great opportunity. But I also love seeing people who I know are really invested and it’s wonderful to work there.
I tell people this is NASA at its best. The tests are taking as long as they should to gather data, even though the media insists that two people are stuck, when it’s a way to learn more about space and your abilities.
Sean Rameswaram
You mention that there’s so much to do, that I imagine most people think they’re probably losing their minds. What are they doing there?
Cady Coleman
There is a complete list test and maintenance to be done. When we go into space, we take away a huge variable, which is that we’re essentially weightless, not quite, but close enough that you have to learn a lot. You can measure things that are difficult to measure on earth. And we learn about combustion and groundwater and erosion. We learn how plants grow, not grow. If we’re going to grow corn on Mars, we probably don’t need corn stalks because they don’t have to hold themselves up very much. So it’s all these different ways of thinking scientifically. It’s another laboratory. It’s almost like a brand new microscope, a different way of looking at things
Sean Rameswaram
What do Butch and Sunny have to do while there to make sure that being in near-zero gravity doesn’t affect their bodies?
Cady Coleman
exercise Biggest answer we’ve seen. I mean, without exercise, without any countermeasures, astronauts lose about a percent and a half of their bone mass every month.
What a 70-year-old woman with osteoporosis loses in a year, I will lose in a month if I do nothing. It’s a big deal. We looked at different medications and different types of exercises and exercise machines. They exercise for about two hours every day. And about half of that is aerobic on a treadmill or a bike, keeping their heart in shape. And about half of that is weight lifting. And we’re finding that people are coming back with most of them bone mass.
Sean Rameswaram
How an astronaut on the ISS makes time, I don’t know, say, Duet with Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull?
Cady Coleman
Well, in my case, I think most of the creative stuff I did there was probably done during the time I was supposed to be sleeping.
We are a small part of a really big place, and we belong there. And when I came home I had the feeling that I knew I was going to space. I didn’t realize that once I got there, I would actually feel closer to Earth. And so it turns out that the house is bigger than we thought.
