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Never a dull moment on space station, astronauts say
[August 27, 2006]

Never a dull moment on space station, astronauts say


(Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) The morning starts with a bag of coffee. Nights are spent inside a cozy, phonebooth-sized container.

In-between, the day might include dangling from a platform 200 miles above Earth, or trying to explain a Mel Brooks movie to a Russian cosmonaut.

Welcome to the international space station, an experience described by former residents as equal parts camping trip and sci-fi adventure.

The station's current residents are preparing for a visit this week from shuttle Atlantis and its six crew members, who are scheduled to launch Sunday from Kennedy Space Center. Their job will be to start a major expansion that's expected to double the outpost's occupancy from three to six residents in future years.



Already, more than 30 men and women have lived on the station since it first opened in 2000 _ working, eating, sleeping, and checking their e-mail during six-month stints that suggest life in space can be both exactly _ and nothing _ like life on Earth.

One clear difference: Never a dull moment.


"In my opinion, it's simply not possible to get bored in space," said astronaut Bill McArthur, a retired Army colonel who lived on the station for 189 days in 2005 and 2006. "If you have nothing else to do, looking at the Earth will take your breath away."

McArthur's days started with the sound of his wristwatch alarm _ the same way he rouses himself from bed in Houston. Then the 55-year-old pilot floated from his sleeping quarters in an American module to a Russian-designed segment called Zarya.

He kept his key toiletries _ toothbrush, razor, etc. _ secured to a wall with Velcro. A small mirror was mounted nearby.

Shaving almost every day in orbit, McArthur said he often went through two or three razors a week because there is no sink or shower on board to rinse away the stubble.

"I would wipe them off as best I could, but you just can't get them that clean," he said.

The lack of a sink also means improvising while brushing your teeth. You either swallow the toothpaste, as McArthur often did, or you spit into a towel.

While NASA supplied fluffy terrycloth towels, McArthur preferred the thin, almost gauze-like variety provided by the Russians. These came either pre-moistened or dry _ great for a fast sponge bath.

To wash his hair, McArthur massaged a gel-like cleanser through the strands and let them air dry. Even so, without a hot shower for six months, did he feel clean?

"It was quite adequate," he said.

Then there was the typical household chore of taking out the trash.

Everything _ including used towels, clothing and food packaging _ was collected in large mesh bags and packed inside the station's giant garbage can, an unmanned Russian supply ship.

When packed to capacity, the ship would then leave on a kamikaze dive into Earth's atmosphere, incinerating everything.

Breakfast was a time for the crew to get together, discuss the day's schedule and anything else on their minds.

"We would help each other get the kind of breakfast we wanted, talk about dreams or the books we were reading," said Susan Helms, a former astronaut and who lived on the station in 2001. "You would have a bag of coffee and enjoy it."

As the meal wound down, the residents started the workday on a conference-call with station controllers in Houston and in Russia. Then it was off to the races. On more routine days, crew members would have some flexibility in their schedules. With a given set of tasks to complete, they could tackle them in whatever order they chose.

Other times _ when an especially difficult task such as a spacewalk was scheduled _ their days would be highly structured. Lunch was typically grab-and-go, with crew members floating to the galley when they had a few minutes and finding something to tide them over until dinner.

At some point every day, they were required to do about two hours of exercise _ one hour devoted to a cardiovascular workout on the treadmill or bike, the other focused on weight lifting. The exercise is needed to combat the loss of bone and muscle that occurs in weightlessness.

At the workday's end, residents had another three-way call among Houston, Russia and the station. Then they would float to the galley, pull down the fold-up table and enjoy dinner as a group.

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Helms, an Air Force brigadier general who now runs Patrick Air Force Base, said the first person to reach the kitchen area usually prepared dinner for everyone.

All the food comes in pre-cooked packages. Water was added to powdered foods, while other items could be eaten straight out of the package or heated in a briefcase-sized warmer, then served. Helms said she often spiced up her meals with Tobasco, soy sauce and other flavorings. One prized item was a bottle of Heinz 57 sauce.

"I don't know, there was something about putting that kind of stuff in the mashed potatoes that the Russians provided," Helms said. "It was absolutely delicious."

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On most days, the residents would have free time after dinner to catch up on e-mails, watch a DVD, gaze out the windows or enjoy one of the 10 books each person is allowed to bring into space.

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Helms, a movie lover, said she raided the station's DVD library, watching a lot of war films and space classics such as "Alien," "Apollo 13," and "2001: A Space Odyssey."

"Let's just say there weren't a lot of chick flicks up there," Helms said with a laugh.

But movie night wasn't a complete success. Helms recalled one occasion when she and fellow American James Voss cajoled their Russian commander, Yury Usachev, into watching a comedy they were certain he would enjoy.

Note to future crews: Mel Brooks' movies may not have universal appeal.

"It was `Young Frankenstein,' and Jim and I are just cracking up, but Yury was stonefaced through the whole thing," Helms said. "He did not get it, he could not understand why that movie was so funny to us."

During McArthur's time in space, NASA went to great lengths to give him a special movie treat.

Soon after Thanksgiving 2005, McArthur noticed that three mysterious files labeled "happy days" had been uploaded to the station's computer system.

It was the new "Harry Potter" movie, only just released on Earth. McArthur and his two grown daughters are big Potter fans.

It was one of his best treats in orbit. "I'll never forget that," McArthur said.

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In addition to entertainment, NASA makes certain that crews can stay connected with family and friends through e-mail and even phone calls.

Starting in 2001, the station was rigged with an Internet-based phone system that allows residents to make outgoing calls to anyone, as long as satellite coverage is available. McArthur said he forgot to tell his brother about the phone before leaving Earth and startled him one night by calling him.

"In my opinion, the (phone system) is the biggest contributor to crew morale we have on the station," McArthur said.

At days' end, crew members retired to their sleeping stations _ two are located in the main Russian module, called Zvezda, and one resides in the American module, Destiny. McArthur said he decorated the inside of his quarters with pictures of his wife, daughters and their dogs.

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Helms, who arrived at the station before the sleeping quarters were added in Destiny, slept on an empty experiment rack in the laboratory. Both astronauts slithered into sleeping bags _ Helms kept hers tied down on the rack. McArthur liked to float freely inside his sleep station.

Both said they slept soundly and easily.

During all their time in orbit, neither astronaut felt lonely or bored, they said. Helms missed animals and certain smells, such as the fresh outdoors, in the sterile environment of the station. But she didn't pine for much on Earth, with all the distraction of being 200 miles above it.

When a shuttle arrived to take her back home in August 2001, Helms said someone snapped a photo of her holding onto a station handrail while Usachev jokingly pulled on her leg as she refused to let go. It wasn't entirely an act.

"I could have stayed," Helms said. "I didn't want to leave."

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(c) 2006, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).

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PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): SHUTTLE-STATIONLIFE

PREMIUM PHOTOS for separate purchase can be viewed at http://www.mctdirect.com/photos/preview/photoadvisory.htm (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): "international space station"

ARCHIVE PHOTO on MCT Direct (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): Susan Helms

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