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|  | | | | My Experiences in Microgravity | | by Dr. Lindquist
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Friday, April 23, 2004
Well, this about wraps up our journey in microgravity. This morning, we held a videoconference back to school and reported on our experiences. It was fun to do so from this end, anxious to hear how it went on the home end. We head home early tomorrow morning and back to school on Monday morning.
Thanks to those of you that may have followed our adventures. It was truly remarkable from our end. We look forward to sharing. Check back periodically. We hope to share some of our findings here. |
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Today is the day! Ms K ready to go up at 9:30, and I expected to go up at 1:30. Pre-flight briefing and preparations went well. The morning fllight group board the plane, taxied and took off at 9:30 sharp. I was tremendously excited for Ms K and the rest of the group. At about 10:00 we heard news that engine problems were plaquing us once again and they were returning. We didn't know if they were able to do any parabolas. It looked like I would be leaving Houston without the chance to fly. After checking over the engine, we were told it was a minor problem, and the afternoon group would be going up after all!
(Click on the date for more) |
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Our 7:30 meeting included a discussion of the testing of the new engine for the day. If all went well we would load in the afternoon. We patiently waited throughout the day for news. We were out on the airstrip about 3:00 looking at the Guppy when we spotted the KC coming in for a landing. There were anxious moments while we waited for the pilot to taxi and come out to share with us the news. His triumphant thumbs up was met with cheers from all of us. About 4:00 Crossroads was called out to load our equipment. What a rush to climb aboard, bolt down our glove box and make preparations for the flight. Tomorrow we fly!
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Tuesday, April 20, 2004
A quiet day today. We learned at our 7:30 meeting that our flight had been shifted to Thursday morning and afternoon. Ms K from 9:30-11:30 and me at 1:30-3:30. At 11:00 today Astronaut Dan Barry spoke with us about his experiences as an astronaut on his three flights. I will put into practice on Thursday afternoon one thought he shared. When Dr. Barry was doing a space walk outside the shuttle, he asked those communicating with him to remind him periodically to stop, turn around, look out at the vastness of space, or the wonders of our blue planet and make a memory. He talked of other astronauts so busy with their work that afterward they couldn't recall the experience with any vivid detail. How many people ever get to walk in space? It was too rare a gift not to remember. He considered it his obligation to remember so he could share the story. Earlier in the week, he offered the same advice to us as we fly the KC-135. I will take the first few parabolas, and several in-between to make some memories. Very few people have ever had the opportunity to do what I am about to do, and I want to take with me memories vivid in detail. |
Monday, April 19, 2004
Today we presented our experiment to the Avaition Safety Team. Everything must meet very tight safety standards. All went well. While we were meeting, the KC-135 crew took the plane out for a flight to test the new engine they had put in over the weekend. They weren't happy with the results and decided they needed to strip that one off and put on another. (Click on the date for more) |
Friday, April 16, 2004
It was quite a day today. We had 4 hours of lecture this morning on physiologic training. We learned about how the human body responds in flight environment that might include rapid rise or decrease in air pressure and in an atmosphere thinned by high altitudes. It was all in preparation for our "flight" in the "Flight Chamber" to 25,000 feet. (click on the date to read more) |
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Today we met with the other teams, went over introductions to the Reduced Gravity Student Opportunities project. A very powerful day. (click on the date for more) |
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
We made it! We arrived in Houston last night and was able to connect with our NASA Scientist/Mentor for a bit. Slept well last night despite the excitement and anxiety I feel about the upcoming experiences. Today we head over to Ellington Field for introductions to other participants and get to work getting our equipment ready to go. Tomorrow we go to Johnson Space Center for physiological training and doing the chamber test. We'll keep you posted as to how that goes. Watch for pictures coming. |
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
This morning I woke up with a stiff neck and a headache. A lousy way to spend the day before we go head to Johnson Space Center. Hopefully a chiropractor appointment in the morning will help. |
Monday, April 12, 2004
This is the week. On Wednesday, Ms K and I leave school and head down to Johnson Space Center. We have been working towards, and looking forward to this for a long time. It is finally nearly here. |
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