Question
#1 | James
Wetherbee's Reply |
From: Gianne Ulanday from Quezon
City, Manila, Philippines, age: 13 To:
Commander
James Wetherbee
Question:
What are the problems that you have encountered from preflight
until now, and how do you cope with it? Do you feel nervous in
giving orders/tasks to the crew?
Wetherbee:
I think probably the biggest challenge that we've had preflight
is to determine whether or not we have accomplished everything
in our preparations to make sure that we are prepared for all
of the operations on orbit. We think we have done a pretty good
job of training and thinking ahead for all the potential failures
that we may have. Also, I think that, if you have a good crew
and you can work well with the crew, then there is no need to
become nervous when giving orders or tasks to the crew. They are
a very good crew on STS-102, and so I'm very happy with that situation.
| ![Image: STS-102 Commander James Wetherbee.](wetherbee_iq1.jpg)
| Question
#2 | James
Wetherbee's Reply |
From:
Ryan Rutherford from Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada, age: 19 To:
Commander
James Wetherbee
Question:
It is very interesting to hear music being played up to
the crew for the morning wake up calls. How do you hear the music
being played? Where are the speakers located onboard?
Wetherbee:
The speakers are on the flight deck and the middeck, and so, as
we're sleeping, when we begin to hear the wake up music, that
does wake us up in most cases. They're not the best of speakers.
They're fairly small, but, I'll tell you, it's a great feeling
to hear the music coming up from the ground when they wake us
up. And they try to have a theme related to the mission or the
individuals onboard, and it's very nice to wake up to that music
and start the day in space.
| ![Image: STS-102 Commander James Wetherbee, left, with Expedition One Cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko.](wetherbee_iq2.jpg)
| Question
#3 | James
Wetherbee's Reply |
From:
Brian Divird from Diablo, Calif.,
age: 33 To:
Commander
James Wetherbee
Question:
When the shuttle blasts off to visit the station, at what
point can the crew of the station see the shuttle approaching?
When I say "see," I mean visually with their own eyes or maybe
binoculars.
Wetherbee:
Interestingly, the view from space of vehicles approaching… You
can see vehicles from many, many miles. In the case of our rendezvous,
we were coming from below and behind, and unfortunately, the window
on the space station was not pointed at the shuttle until we were
only a couple of miles away. So that's when they first saw us.
On my last flight, although, I did see a Progress vehicle, a rocket,
launching from Russia while we were in orbit at five, six hundred
miles away from the rocket, and it was very clearly visible as
a star rising up to us. So you can see it anywhere from right
at liftoff until only a couple of miles away, depending upon the
lighting and the windows.
| ![Image: STS-102 Commander James Wetherbee.](wetherbee_iq3.jpg)
| Question
#4 | James
Wetherbee's
Reply |
From:
Cory Syvenky from Calgary, Alberta,
Canada, age: 27 To:
Commander
James Wetherbee
Question: While
watching NASA-TV during previous missions, I have never seen or
heard the shuttle and station crews have direct communications
with each other. Rather, Houston has to relay messages to the
station crew on behalf of the shuttle crew. My question is does
the shuttle crew have direct communications with the station crew
during the pre- and post-docking phases?
Wetherbee:
Of course, communications are very critical in operational
flights like this one as we're building the International Space
Station. It is a necessity, as we approach, to be in good communication
with the other vehicle and also, after we're docked, to coordinate
all the maneuvers and the control of the stack, and so we do want
to have good communications. We also had a minor failure during
our rendezvous and docking. Right after we docked, we lost communications
on the shuttle with the ground, but the ground was able to relay
information to us through the space station. So, we do have that
capability, and it is very much appreciated when we're conducting
the complex operations.
| ![Image: STS-102 Commander James Wetherbee.](wetherbee_iq4.jpg)
| Question
#5 | Andrew
Thomas'
Reply |
From:
Cheryl
Chuter from Aldershot, Hampshire, England, age: 48 To:
Mission
Specialist Andrew Thomas
Question: Is there
any food or drink you miss or activities you miss doing while
you are all at work? And what has been your most exciting / interesting
moment while onboard?
Thomas:
Well, you do tend to miss fresh fruit and fresh vegetables and
things like that - the foods that tend to perish quickly - because
we don't have those up here, and that is kind of a pity. Of course,
you miss walking out in the sunshine and fresh air a bit too.
I think the most exciting moment has always been for me the launch,
and getting into space and feeling zero gravity for the first
time. It's a great feeling.
| ![Image: STS-102 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas.](thomas_iq5.gif)
| Question
#6 | Andrew
Thomas'
Reply |
From:
Jessie
from Jacksonville, Ill., age: 14 To:
Mission
Specialist Andrew Thomas
Question: Why
doesn't the space shuttle burn up on its way through the Earth's
atmosphere?
Thomas:
The space shuttle, Jessie, is encased in some very fine silicon
ceramic tiles, which are able to take a very large amount of heat.
And they absorb the heat and radiate it back out into space so
that the space shuttle does not burn up due to the friction of
the atmosphere.
| ![Image: STS-102 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas.](thomas_iq6.gif)
| Question
#7 | Andrew
Thomas'
Reply |
From:
Dan
Norman from Morris, Minn., age: 21 To:
Mission
Specialist Andrew Thomas
Question: How
do you tell how heavy an object is in space? Like when loading
the Leonardo module. How does the crew know how heavy the trash
and other items are to keep its center of balance?
Thomas:
It is actually quite hard, Dan, to estimate the weight of objects
in space. You can do it by feel to some extent, but if you need
to really do it properly, you can't just weigh it on a scale because
there is no gravity. And for cases like that you use a system
where you put the mass on a spring and let it oscillate. By measuring
how quickly it oscillates from the spring, you can determine its
mass, and that is what we did to measure our own weight when we
were on Mir.
| ![Image: STS-102 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas.](thomas_iq7.gif)
| Question
#8 | Andrew
Thomas'
Reply |
From:
Paul
Wiszniak from Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, age: 44 To:
Mission
Specialist Andrew Thomas
Question: After
returning to Earth, how long is the astronaut debrief and how
soon do they get to go out, get a burger and take a stroll down
main street?
Thomas:
Well, actually, we do some post-landing medical checks, and a
few hours after that we're free to go out and meet with families
and get out and see the sunshine. Naturally, the debrief continues
in the ensuing weeks but at a much more relaxed pace at that time.
| ![Image: STS-102 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas.](thomas_iq8.gif)
| Question
#9 | Andrew
Thomas'
Reply |
From:
Richard
Macey from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, age: 46 To:
Mission
Specialist Andrew Thomas
Question: STS-102
lands the same week the Mir space station will be scuttled in
the Pacific. Having lived aboard Mir, how do you feel about its
demise, and what was it like to be a member of the Russian station's
crew?
Thomas:
Well, I am kind of sorry, Richard, to see that it's going. But,
things must progress, and we must move on to new systems. I feel
kind of the same way I feel about if you have a car that you've
had for many years and you finally end up having to sell it to
buy a new one. You are sorry to see it go, but you know you have
to do it. And that is how I feel about Mir. But I had a good time
on Mir. And I certainly enjoyed the time there with the Russians
I flew with. It was a great experience.
| ![Image: STS-102 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas.](thomas_iq9.gif)
| Question
#10 | Andrew
Thomas'
Reply |
From:
William
Goodman from Adelaide, South Australia, Australia To:
Mission
Specialist Andrew Thomas
Question: Andy,
how do you feel about being the first Australian to do a space
walk, and what was it like?
Thomas:
It was a big challenge but pretty amazing - sort of one
of those little surreal experiences that is kind of hard to describe.
To really be outside the vehicle and to be in a spacesuit working
on a space station is quite an extraordinary experience.
| ![Image: STS-102 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas.](thomas_iq10.gif)
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