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(CNN) – For the first time, seven crew members – and Baby Yoda – live on the International Space Station for an extended stay of six months.
After the launch on Sunday, NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover Jr., Shannon Walker and the Japanese Space Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi were welcomed aboard the space station early Tuesday by astronaut of NASA Kate. Rubins and the Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.
And perhaps no one is more excited than Glover. It’s the astronaut’s first trip to space and, by all accounts, he hasn’t stopped smiling since he arrived.
Glover is the first black person in a full-time crew on the space station.
“When the engine died and we were in orbit, it was surreal,” Glover said at a news conference Thursday from the space station. “I have seen many images, but when I first looked at the Earth out of the window, I had no words. It was an amazing, once in a lifetime feeling.
The rest of his team were equally excited. When they reached zero gravity, his crew turned to Glover and said, “We’re in space!”
And when Glover came out of the hatch, Rubins rushed to greet him and spread his hands. “My God, you are here!” he shouted happily.
Floating for an extended period of time is new to Glover. Previously, he experienced a few seconds of buoyancy as a Navy test pilot. “But floating over a long period of time is really amazing,” he said. “My brain is constantly trying to figure out which way it’s going. It’s an interesting challenge, which I find a little fun. I’m writing notes so I can remember it later.
Glover revealed that he felt a great deal of emotion. The approach to the space station has inspired him with awe and happiness, but he is also eager to get to work and contribute.
An advocate of social justice and the protection of the planet, Glover said this trip to the space station strengthened his resolve.
“I think what I said and what I tried to work for is the right thing to do. Be honest and direct with people, so it works for what is right, “he said. And I think that doing the right thing is always in order. Then look at the world from this perspective, see the Earth and these wonderful land masses and oceans with no lines or words drawn on them, it simply raises awareness that the planet needs protection and human life needs protection, and we are the ones of us who need to protect it.
“I hope this (mission) inspires people to look up, literally and figuratively, especially as 2020 draws to a close.”
A crowded station
The orbiting lab gets a little crowded, but in a good way.
“He’s very busy,” Rubins said. “There is energy here and people run by. A lot of things happen on the space station. And we will be able to conduct a great deal of research. The amount of scientific production of this mission will be incredible. “
Rubins looked relieved. Astronauts also spend a significant portion of their time serving the space station, as well as performing hundreds of scientific experiments.
The crew estimates it will take a few weeks for them to adjust to having five people on the US side of the space station.
“There were traffic jams through the modules going from place to place,” Walker said.
“We need to find out how five people work around here without clashing,” Hopkins added.
The crew has been busy since they exited the hatch early Tuesday morning. Once settled, the crew will begin dividing the large number of experiments currently on the station and prepare for more to launch on December 2.
“Scientific researchers have been waiting a long time for this,” Hopkins said. “Let’s see how much science can come out of this space station.”
Sleeping in a spaceship
Hopkins will have unusual sleeping arrangements compared to the rest of his colleagues. While his crew is on the space station, Hopkins will remain in the Resilience capsule, docked at the space station.
The crew has spent the past two days removing the cargo so it can get inside.
Hopkins was the commander of the SpaceX crew vehicle for the launch.
During the shuttle era, it was traditional for the shuttle commander who transported components and supplies to the space station to sleep on the shuttle, Hopkins said, so it “felt good” to continue the custom.
And the slightly cooler temperatures in the vehicle look good on you.
However, Hopkins is wary of protecting the spacecraft, as it is his homecoming in six months.
“One of the things I am aware of as I spend time there is that I don’t want to do anything to hurt her as I go in and out,” said Hopkins. I could use it as a bedroom, but it’s also the one that will take us home.
Hopkins said he will likely spend less time on the spacecraft than if he had his own room on the space station.
Baby Yoda’s wild ride
While the mission is a historic first between the NASA-SpaceX partnership and the agency’s Commercial Crew program, part of the show was stolen by none other than Baby Yoda.
Spectators who tuned in to watch the launch on Sunday night noticed Baby Yoda spinning through the cockpit of the Resilience spacecraft. The toy served as a zero-gravity indicator. It’s a long-standing spaceflight tradition where each crew selects a toy to travel with during launch. When the toy begins to float in the cockpit, the crew knows they have reached space.
The astronauts of the crew-1 chose Baby Yoda after watching the series “The Mandalorian”.
“It’s hard not to love Baby Yoda,” Hopkins said. “It refers to the name of our ship, Resilience. It has been a difficult year. The fact that NASA and SpaceX were able to prepare us for this year and the pandemic inspired us all to be resilient. “
Hopkins talked about the inspiration factor of space flight, especially during a year like 2020.
“Baby Yoda does the same, puts a smile on everyone’s face,” Hopkins said. “It also seemed appropriate for our crew. We like to have a lot of fun and we did. Although I think space travel was a little more difficult than Baby Yoda is used to, compared to what he normally drives.
That said, if you’ve seen the latest episodes of “The Mandalorian”, Din Djarin (played by Pedro Pascal) and his spaceship Razor Crest aren’t exactly known for smoothly navigating through the galaxy far, far away.
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