EXPLORATIONS
–
July 3, 2002: Life on the International Space Station
By Paul Thompson
VOICE ONE:
This is Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS.
The Space Shuttle Endeavour returned to Earth last month. It carried the fourth crew to live and work on the
International Space Station. One member of the crew kept a written record of what it is like to live in space.
Today we tell what astronaut Daniel Bursch wrote.
((THEME)
)
VOICE ONE:
American astronaut Daniel Bursch returned to Earth June nineteenth after a total of one-hundred ninety-six days
in space. He and the other American crewmember Carl Waltz now hold the American record for the longest time
spent in space on one flight.
Astronaut Bursch was chosen to live on the space station crew because he had spent almost
three-thousand flight hours in more than thirty-five different aircraft. He had also flown
three times as a crewmember of the space shuttle. Before living on the space station, he
spent more than seven-hundred-forty hours in space.
VOICE TWO
Daniel Bursch is an officer in the United States Navy. He was born in the eastern state of
Pennsylvania in nineteen-fifty-seven. He is married and has four children.
Mister Bursch is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He has advanced education in engineering
science. He was selected by NASA in January nineteen-ninety and became an astronaut in July, nineteen-ninetyone.
VOICE ONE:
The space shuttle Endeavor was launched into space December fifth, two -thousand one. It was carrying two
American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station. Daniel Bursch began writing
on his one -hundredth day in orbit, March eighteenth. He wrote the diary in an effort to give others a feel for what
it is like to be a crewmember on the International Space Station.
Mister Bursch said the trip to the International Space Station was a little different experience for him. It was the
first time he had flown in the space shuttle as a passenger, not a member of the crew. Bob Doughty reads from
the diary of Daniel Bursch.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE THREE:
The launch was the first time for me on the middeck, inside the space shuttle. There are no windows there and
you can not see outside. It surprised me when the shuttle began to roll as part of the launch. All space shuttles do
this. But I was used to being on the flight deck where we can see outside through the forward and overhead
windows. Up there you can see what is happening.
We soon were in orbit and linked with the International Space Station. Everyone became very busy. Things did
not slow down until the shuttle left for the return flight to Earth. There is a limited amount of time to do all of the
planned tasks. This caused a good deal of pressure as we worked hard to do all that was required.
The commander of our crew, the fourth crew to live and work on the International Space Station, is Russian
Cosmonaut Yury Onufrienko. When we arrived at the station, Yury already had spent more than one-hundredninety-
three days in space on the Russian Mir space station.
Yury told us that it would be a strange feeling when the shuttle returned to Earth and we three were the only ones
left. It was a little like a family party.very busy .and it suddenly came to an end.everyone left.
Our working days slowed a little, but we were still busy. We worked outside the space station two times in
January and we had to move cargo into the space station from the Russian cargo ship Progress.
The Christmas and New Year holidays were a nice break from our work. It was very hard for me to be away from
my family. We spent most of the holidays catching up on sleep, writing electronic mail and watching movies. We
also called friends and family on a special telephone linked to the Internet communications system. It was very
special to be able to call my family. It was a lot of fun to call someone and listen to their surprise when we said
we were calling from space.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
Daniel Bursch wrote in detail of the tasks he performed each day. He explained how they planned for future jobs
such as the arrival of the next space shuttle, or Russian cargo spacecraft. And, he told about the food and how
important it became.
VOICE THREE:
Our days are controlled by “Universal Time.
”
We start at six o ’clock each morning and our day ends at
twenty-one-thirty hours.
Sometimes we have to change our workday because of a coming event such as the shuttle or a Soyuz spacecraft
linking with our space station.
Each day we get several messages that we need to read that are part of a daily work plan. We read these messages
and print them with the aid of small computers. We read our mail, wash, eat breakfast, read the plan of our work
day. We also have a morning conference with our teams on the ground at Mission Control in Houston, Texas, the
Operations Control Center, in Huntsville, Alabama and Russian Mission Control in Moscow. Each control center
prepares questions for us about our work or sends us new tasks.
Our daily work includes safety inspections of all of our equipment, taking pictures inside and outside. We work
on science experiments, and inspect and repair any equipment that needs work.
We also have about two and one-half-hours of physical exercise every day. We usually have our last meal of the
day about seventeen hours-thirty.
We have a combination of Russian and American food. Yury told us our tastes would change in space. And, he
was right. Food that I thought was hot or spicy.is no longer spicy. Also, some foods that I really liked on Earth
no longer appeal to me anymore. I still can’t wait to try some pizza when we return to Earth. We all like to see
the space shuttle arrive, or the Russian cargo ship because it means fresh fruit, different food and mail and gifts
from our family and friends.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Members of the space station crew can fly from one part of their home to another because of the lack of gravity in
space. Astronaut Bursch liked to play a game. He would throw an object across the room and then try to fly in
exactly the way it did, like two aircraft flying together. However, he said he had to be careful because if you hit
something, it hurt! Here he explains how difficult living on the space station can be for extended periods of time.
VOICE THREE:
One important part of space flight is the mental challenges that take place when you live with two other persons
in what is really a large can. Living with someone is very different than just working with them. And living and
working together with only two other people for several months can be difficult.
If you have a bad day, you can ’t just go for a walk. I have come to accept that all of us will have good days and
bad days. You have to quickly learn that you can not let small problems bother you. You can’t think about
small problems, you have to let them go. And soon you will realize how unimportant they are and will probably
laugh that they even bothered you in the first place.
I learned that it is important to let the others know when something bothers you. Like any other relationship, if
you let things go all the time they will collect inside and always come out at the wrong time. So, relations in
space are a balancing act the same as on Earth.
VOICE TWO:
Astronaut Bursch likes photography. He explained that he especially enjoyed taking pictures of Earth from the
space station. One morning he saw the highest mountain on Earth.something he would never forget.
VOICE THREE:
* UDSKLF
,PDJH
I happened to be up early. I looked at our world map and saw that we would be
passing near Mount Everest soon. I looked at our computer and saw our flight path
would be over this famous mountain. I looked out the window and there was Mount
Everest. It almost seemed to jump out at me. It was just after dawn there and the sun
was low in the Earth sky. This made the mountains look very beautiful. I began
taking photographs. It was just one of those sights that will be forever burned into
my brain.
((MUSIC BRIDGE)
)
VOICE ONE:
You can see Daniel Bursch’s beautiful photograph of Mount Everest if you have a computer that can link with
the Internet communications system.
The Web site address is www.voanews.com. Then look for Special English and the picture.
This Special English program was written by Paul Thompson and directed by Cynthia Kirk. The diary of Daniel
Bursch was read by Bob Doughty. This is Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of
America.
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