Capt. Scott Kelly

[Thumper]

Mom sent me a Facebook link a while back about him speaking somewhere in Cincinnati this month. I knew I'd be too busy to even attempt to go. Last night she called and said she had won two free tickets to the event. So tomorrow after work, we'll head down to hear him speak!

[geonuc]

Cool. I sat in on a DragonCon talk with Garrett Weisman, a shuttle astronaut and now SpaceX guy. Astronauts tell the best stories.

[pumpkinpi]

Awesome.

A couple weeks ago I was on a flight with astronaut Mike Massimino. I met him when his crew that was on the last HST servicing mission visited my previous work. And he's stayed in the public since retiring so I'll see him on twitter or hear him on a podcast every now and then.
http://www.mikemassimino.com/

I was in line behind him as we were waiting to board, and I came so close to saying something. But it was too hectic so I didn't want to bother him. It looked like he was flying with his daughter.

[Thumper]

I like Massimino. I've seen him on several interviews, and a special where he was in studio and he and the host spoke with the (then) current crew of the ISS.

I've seen some interviews and a TED talk with Colonel Chris Hadfield. And I'm still reading his book. I'd love to meet him too. What am I saying, I'd love to meet any of them.

[Rommie]

I'm really impressed you guys could identify all the astronauts in the wild!

No really, that's cool.

[Thumper]

I'd love to sit down and have a couple of drinks with Story Musgrave!
Seriously, we were out somewhere and I said something like, "Hey that woman looks like Sandra Magnus." They were all blank stares and said, "Who?"
Oh nevermind.

[Thumper]

Mom and I had a nice time listening to Kelly speak. It was basically part of a book tour put on by a local book store in collaboration with the Cincinnati Observatory and the Cincinnati Museum Center. We got pre signed books with our tickets. There was no meet and greet for the rabble. I guess you had to pay $250 per person for that and it happened before the presentation. Just as well, I would have stumbled for something important to say. There was about 15 minutes of Q and A at the end. Since the event was billed as educational, parents and teachers were encouraged to bring their kids and students. So the youngsters lined up for questions. It was much more entertaining to listen to the kids' hilarious (or serious) questions and the adept way the Captain handled the answers. Worth the price of admission right there.
Good time had by all.

[Thumper]

We were in Florida last week when a former co-worker texted me that Capt. Kelly would be speaking at a local university this week. I signed Mom and Mrs. T up for tickets. We didn't order his book because we already had it from the first time we saw him. That was unfortunate, because this time he did do a personalized signing after the talk. The format was the same: A brief introductory video followed by an interview, this time with the head of the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum. There were similar questions and answers but the program was unique. He showed some of the photos in his new book (which is all photos) on the big screen. Then again there was a question and answer. I had worked on a question for a couple of days but was again relieved when it was intended for kids. He does a marvelous job of communicating with youngsters. It was a very fun time again. I was happy that my friend, my Mom again, and Mrs. T thoroughly enjoyed the program.

[geonuc]

What was to be your question?

[Thumper]

I had recently re read portions of Col. Hadfield's book. He spoke of an unofficial rule of thumb that it takes a day back on Earth for every day in space to physically recover. He felt that was accurate for his 11-14 day Shuttle missions. For his 5+ month ISS assignment, he felt like it took forever to get "back to normal." I wanted to ask Capt. Kelly if during his recovery from 11 months in microgravity, did he feel like he ever got back to normal, did he just kind of accept that this was going to be his new normal, and did he really remember what "normal" felt like? With that thought, what were his personal opinions or reflections on longterm human viability in microgravity? From the physical point of view alone, not even considering, radiation issues, or mental and emotional concerns with long term isolation, boredom, and claustrophobia.

Yeah, a mouthful. I tried repeatedly to tailor it down to something askable in one question. So I was relieved to sit there and listen to him answer the questions: Are there a million buttons in the ISS? and How do you keep from bumping into things when you're floating in the ISS?

[geonuc]

I like your first question, whether he needed to adjust to a new normal. You should have asked it!

[SciFiFisher]

I love the idea of space travel. And it amazes me that there are people who devote their lives to making it happen.