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 Still's First Mission |
Augusta astronaut tells about life, work aboard shuttle
Web posted Jul. 09 at 10:04 PM
By Amy Joyner
``My main tasks are maintaining the safety and cleanliness of the shuttle,'' Lt. Cmdr. Still said Wednesday in an interview from space with The Augusta Chronicle and television station WRDW (Channel 12). ``I stay pretty busy keeping the orbiting spacecraft healthy.''
The payload astronauts are conducting 33 experiments inside Columbia's bus-sized microgravity science laboratory to see how flames, water droplets, crystals, plants and various building materials behave in space in the absence of gravity.
``The main purpose is to somehow make life better on Earth, perhaps (through) more efficient fuel burning, less pollutants in the air, better aircraft engines,'' a grinning Lt. Still said from space, her blond hair floating in ringlets atop her head.
The experiments conducted on Columbia's 16-day flight are a research bridge to the planned International Space Station.
As shuttle pilot, Lt. Cmdr. Still is busiest during launch and landing. She lowers the landing gear and she controls crucial shuttle systems during ascent, the 81/2 minutes from liftoff to orbit.
``You feel this acceleration as if you were at a red light and you floored your car to go as fast as it could go and it kind of pushed you into the back of your seat,'' she described rocketing into space. ``Well, it's like that, only 10 times as great.
``It's a lot different than flying airplanes out of Daniel Field.''
The Columbia astronauts first traveled to space together in April, but their mission was cut short because of a defective fuel cell. They are the first crew to return to space together in 36 years of human spaceflight.
Through the two missions, the astronauts have become close friends and get along well on the shuttle, despite the close quarters, Lt. Cmdr. Still said Wednesday.
``You just have to understand that you're going to run into other people often - physically run into them - because you've got to physically push them out of the way to get where you're trying to go,'' she said.
But the spectacular view out Columbia's window makes the shuttle quarters seem a little less cramped.
``The windows are great to look out,'' said Lt. Cmdr. Still, who is also the crew's Earth observation photographer. ``It makes me realize even though you're in a small environment, you can see the entire Earth out there, so you don't feel so confined.''
On this trip, the astronaut has seen the four moons of Jupiter, the Holy Land, the Mir Space Station twice and even the bright lights of Atlanta.
After she returns to Earth on July 17, Lt. Cmdr. Still will begin making public appearances in her native Augusta.
``Mostly I'm bringing back my experience in space,'' she said. ``Maybe I'll be able to excite a few schoolchildren into doing well in school and just share my experience with Augusta.''
Since her July 1 launch, the astronaut has already shared her experiences with some friends and family through electronic mail and brief radio conversations. She talked with a niece and nephew by amateur radio and spoke briefly with her boyfriend, a Navy SEAL stationed in Puerto Rico, on NASA's air-to-ground communication system.
But Wednesday was the first time she's chatted with her father since blasting into space.
``Hi, Dad,'' Lt. Cmdr. Still said. ``Do you have any puppies left?''
``We have one,'' answered Dr. Joseph Still. ``His name is Astro.''
The astronaut's stepmother, Sue Still, had wondered how long it would take to sell her last Keeshond puppy. But she's certain her stepdaughter's out-of-this world question will soon solve that problem.
People eagerly adopted Astro's six brothers and sisters once they learned the dogs belonged to the astronaut's father, Mrs. Still said.
Astro is surely off to a new home soon, she said.
``I was going to place an ad: `Astronaut's father selling puppies,''' Mrs. Still joked.
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