The final frontier not just a dream for some

WORLD Space Week 2011 takes place from October 4 to 10 as an international celebration of how space has contributed to the betterment of the human condition while also educating the public about space.

Since World Space Week began in 1999 events have been held in over 50 nations each year, and as a part of this year’s activities Cork’s Blackrock Castle Observatory (www.bco.ie) will host a rocket launch with the Irish Rocketry Society and NASA Astronaut Shane Kimbrough will deliver a talk at Triskel Christchurch.

The theme for this year’s event is 50 Years of Human Spaceflight, charting the missions dating back to Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s orbit around the Earth aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft on April 12, 1961. Since then missions have also been conducted by the United States and the People’s Republic of China, with India, Japan, and Malaysia also engaged in developing their own space programmes. “I wanted to be an astronaut ever since I was a little boy,” Shane Kimborough recalled of an early interest in space that would eventually see him realise the dream in 2008. “Most kids my age had the same dream because we grew up watching the Apollo astronauts walk on the moon.”

For the general public, the activities and awareness created by World Space Week contribute to a two-way dialogue on the subject: “Space Week is a brilliant venue to help educate the general public about what we are doing and will do in the future. It is a wonderful time to hear what is on the minds of the public as well as share our experiences in space.”

Kimborough is a frequent visitor to schools and educational establishments to talk about his life and work. “I love interacting with people, so events like these are perfect. I am very happy to share with people what life is like as an astronaut. We all do this job because we love it and because we are proud of serving our country in this capacity. While I do hear many of the same questions over and over, there are always several new ones which are always interesting. Kids provide a unique perspective that never gets old.”

Charting the highlights of an eventful career, the NASA astronaut lists his space shuttle flight on STS-126 amongst the obvious highlights. “The entire experience was amazing from launch to landing, and having the opportunity to go outside for two spacewalks was incredible. Going outside in my own little space ship at over 28,100 km per hour, performing work for about 13 hours, and having a few minutes to look in awe at our beautiful planet was spectacular. The most satisfying thing for me was to know I was a small part of an incredible team that successfully accomplished a very difficult mission. Having said all of that, the true highlight of my career is having a beautiful wife and 3 wonderful, healthy children. They have sacrificed more than even I know, so that I could live out one of my dreams,” he adds.

In a career that has taken him all over the world from his base in Texas, Shane Kimborough lists the diversity of his chosen career amongst it’s greatest attractions. “There is no average day for us, which I love. Whether you are assigned to a mission or not, we all continue to train and keep up our skills for various tasks. Our weeks include things like being in the space station simulator, flying T-38 jets, performing robotic/spacewalking tasks in the Virtual Reality laboratory and supporting fellow crewmembers that are flying in space or preparing to fly in space.”

He lists further activities that change on a weekly basis: “The job also includes sitting as Capsule Communicator in Mission Control, travelling to meetings all over the US, taking Russian language classes, supporting technical meetings for our specialties, training for spacewalks in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, performing robotic simulator training and travelling all over the world for public relations events. These are just a small sampling of things we do, but it should give you a feel for why our schedules are never the same.”

Having stepped outside the safety of his capsule for two spacewalks, the experience left an indelible mark: “My work as an astronaut has not changed my view of the world, only enhanced my perspective,” he says. “In space looking at our planet, what struck me was the incredible picture that was before my eyes. There are no borders, no wars, no crime, no ‘craziness’. There is a strikingly peaceful, but fragile, planet that remains the only habitable planet in our solar system. In this respect, it made me realise how important it is for us as a human race to protect and preserve the place we call home. It also made me realise that we should do a better job of working together as nations to make our planet more like it is viewed from space – peaceful.”

Future missions are being planned to move beyond the low-Earth orbit where missions have been engaged for the past 30 years during the Space Shuttle era, with destinations such as asteroids, the moon and Mars now being discussed.

“Astronauts come from many different backgrounds and experiences,” says Kimborough. “A few essential qualities that I feel are necessary to the job are teamwork, determination, perseverance, self-motivation and willingness to put the team’s goals in front of your own.” For the many budding astronauts out there looking to the skies with an ambition as he once did, Shane Kimborough lists the basic educational requirements of the career.

“The basis for all of the current and future astronauts is a strong education in mathematics, science, technology, or engineering. So to all of the aspiring astronauts out there, study hard in school. Once you get out of school and into the workplace, do the very best job at everything you do,” he says. “I always like to tell folks to pursue things that they enjoy instead of things that they think might be better for an astronaut application because you will always work harder at things you enjoy and more importantly, you will surprise yourself at the amazing things you can accomplish when you are motivated.”

But while many come forward to try to join the select group who walk in space, only a select minority are chosen “If you are one of the few who gets to be an astronaut, then great,” he concludes.

“However, if you are in the majority of folks who do not get selected, you will no doubt make superb contributions to your country just by doing the things that you like to do and doing them well. We sometimes need astronauts, but we always need people who will excel at being teachers, doctors, scientists, engineers, and leaders.”