October 14, 2007

Sciencedude: Astronaut Caldwell to make public visit at UCI Wednesday

Gary Robbins

The public is invited to drop by Beckman Center at UC Irvine at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to meet Tracy Caldwell, the O.C. astronaut who recently helped expand the International Space Station as part of the crew of space shuttle Endeavour.

Caldwell, 37, organized all four spacewalks made by the Endeavour crew, and she played a key role in inspecting the shuttle’s heat shield for damage.

As we’ve noted before, this is a homecoming for Tracy. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Cal State Fullerton. And she was working as a postdoctoral chemist at UCI when she was chosen for astronaut training.

I spoke to her by phone in September. Here’s what she had to say:

Q: Can you describe how the reality of your flight on Endeavour compared to what you expected it to be?

A: It exceeded my expectations. Especially the sensation of floating (in zero gravity). There were these angelic-like moments when I was hovering above crew mates and not moving a muscle. It’s strange; you’re just there, without anything holding you up. And you can move so easily; just press against something. It’s a fingertip motion. You don’t even have to bend your finger. Just press and you’re off.

I remember just hopping in my sleeping bag and lying there, floating, not feeling like I would fall out. I’ll never forget that.

Q: And the view …

A: There’s nothing to prepare you for what it looks like. Whether the sun is up or down, you feel this incredible sense of privilege to have the view you have. You can look above the horizon and see the curvature of the Earth, and you see the lines in the terrain on the ground. You see plumps of clouds, and you can see past those cloud layers to everything below.

And it’s astonishing when you’re there in the dark, looking out at the Milky Way. The blackness seems to have an orange halo behind it. It was so clear and vivid. Looking at the stars was the most amazing thing of all, and it brought tears to my eyes. I realized that I was one of the few people in the history of our existence to be where I was, seeing the universe this way. It was as though someone had hung ornaments in front of me; the stars are that beautiful. It reminded me of lying on the ground in Yosemite, looking up and seeing all those points of light. But from space, the stars don’t twinkle. And you can see structure in the universe. Some things are in the foreground, some in the background. There’s nothing on Earth to simulate what it’s really like to be in space. It was a religious feeling.

Q: Are you religious?

A: I am a Christian. I believe strongly in God.

Q: Let’s talk about the launch. Some astronauts become briefly disoriented or sick when they finally reach zero gravity. What was your experience?

A: I didn’t get sick, which was good because me and (crewmate) Dave Williams had to unstrap immediately and grab cameras to take pictures of the external fuel tank falling away. There was only one brief moment when I felt something. I whipped my head around fast to look at something and I felt my head spinning. I waited for a moment, took a deep breath, and waited for my “gyro” to realign, and I was OK. I adapted very quickly to floating in space. Before long, I could float upside down or in an inverted position, like I was scuba diving.

Q: You were very busy during the flight. What part of the work did you find the most challenging?

A: The four consecutive EVAs (extra-vehicular activities, or spacewalks) that were done by my crew mates. I helped coordinate the EVAs from inside the shuttle. Nothing on the ground simulates the constant wear this work has on you. For the entire time it’s going on, you’re concentrating. (Spacewalks often last more than six hours.) I’m thinking ahead, planning ahead. And when the EVA is over, you have to put things away and plan for the next one. I did things like go into the airlock and help them put on their tools, then float up to the flight deck, where I’d sort of act like an air traffic controller. I’d give them (the spacewalkers) a heads up on when the sun was coming up or going down, and made sure their tools got put back in the right place. I helped keep track of the big picture. It was a very demanding job.

Q: Could you see Southern California at any point?

A: Yes. We could see the wildfires, and we went over (Santa) Catalina (Island) twice.

Q: Did you learn anything at Cal State Fullerton or UC Irvine that helped you in space?

A: Yes. I spent so much time at Fullerton I feel like I grew up there. The university paid so much attention to me. It’s a tribute to how a school can create confident students. I got so much help from professors like Barbara Finlayson-Pitts (who is now at UCI). And at UCI I got so much help from (professors) I felt like a kid at Fullerton, growing up. At UCI, I felt like an adult who was being refined by these extraordinary professors.