Poised to
launch towards the International
Space Station (ISS) this week are three Discovery shuttle astronauts
trained in the art of orbital
construction.
But STS-116
spacewalkers Robert
Curbeam, Christer
Fuglesang and Sunita
Williams are more than mere orbital electricians set to rewire the ISS
power grid. They plan to perform three extravehicular activities (EVAs) during
the mission to deliver a new piece
of the ISS and plug the station into its primary electrical and thermal
control systems.
"I have
complete confidence of everybody on the team," said Curbeam, who is
leading all three STS-116 spacewalks, during an interview. "I think we've
all trained enough together."
Curbeam,
Williams and Fuglesang--a European Space Agency astronaut--are slated to launch
spaceward with their STS-116
crewmates on Dec. 7 at 9:35:47 p.m. EST (0235:47 Dec. 8 GMT) to kick off
their 12-day
mission.
Spacewalking
pro
Of all the
STS-116 spacewalkers, it is Curbeam alone who brings actual spaceflight
experience to the table.
The Baltimore
native--known to his crewmates as "Beamer"--flew alongside STS-116
commander MarkPolansky
during NASA's
STS-98 mission to deliver the U.S.
Destiny laboratory to the ISS in 2001. He also flew aboard NASA's STS-85
mission in 1997 and has logged more than 24 days in space, and 19 hours working
outside a spacecraft during three
spacewalks.
"I think
the biggest impression that I left with from that flight, although we did a lot
of work in the sciences, was just the view," Curbeam, 44, said in a NASA
interview. "It was absolutely incredible!"
A captain in
the U.S. Navy and father of two children, Curbeam was selected to join NASA's
astronaut corps in 1994 after 10 years as a naval aviator. He originally
studied to build spacecraft, and holds several degrees in aerospace,
aeronautical and astronautical engineering.
"I was
always interested in spacecraft and aircraft. I thought I'd be a spacecraft
designer," he said. "But I never really thought I'd be an
operator."
Curbeam serves
as the STS-116 crew's Mission Specialist-1 and its chief spacewalker, and is
intimately acquainted with the risks of EVAs and spaceflight. He encountered an
ammonia
leak while wrangling ISS cooling lines during the Destiny lab's
installation, prompting decontamination procedures and angst he's not eager to
repeat.
"Probably
the biggest thing people have to remember, especially coming out of a naval
tradition, is that people are always looking out for my safety," Curbeam
told reporters. "We are trying to make sure that we have the best vehicle,
best spacesuit, the best equipment to do our job with. Our part of the bargain
is that we're going to go out there and we're going to do it right."
Curbeam said
that he always wishes to share his spaceflight experience with others, adding
that the experience offers a unique perspective.
"I always
tell my friends, 'If you leave this world not a conservationist, you'll come
back as one,'" he said, adding that the beauty and limited resources of
Earth are striking from space. "I welcome the day when more people get to
experience some of the things that I've experienced--I just think they'll get
along a lot better."
Sweden's
first spaceflyer
Joining
Curbeam on the first two STS-116 spacewalks is Fuglesang, as Mission
Specialist-3, who is poised to make history as the first Swede to reach space.
The upcoming mission also marks his spaceflight debut 14 1⁄2 years after
becoming an ESA astronaut.
"It's
exciting to be flying in space for the first time," said Fuglesang, 49, in
an interview. "It's great that Europe can have astronauts participating in
the build-up of the space station."
A Stockholm
native and particle physicist by training, Fuglesang joined ESA's astronaut
ranks in 1992 and served as a backup for fellow European Thomas
Reiter--currently servingas anExpedition 14flight engineer aboard the ISS--during the Euromir 95 mission to
Russia's Mir
Space Station in 1995. The two astronauts are friends, and both among the
few non-Russians certified to fly Soyuz spacecraft.
"We never
thought that we ever would fly in space together," Fuglesang said in a
NASA interview, adding that the presence of two Europeans aboard the ISS has
drawn extra interest to the STS-116 mission in Europe. "I guess it will be
like suddenly meeting an old friend on some foreign island somewhere--I'm
looking forward to that very much."
Fuglesang, who
is raising three children with his wife Elisabeth, admits some frustration from
his long wait to his first spaceflight, but added that other ESA astronauts
have been waiting longer than he, and that patience is part of the job.
"You have
to be prepared to be patient," he said. "I've been very lucky."
Staying
up there
Rounding out
Discovery's STS-116 crew is Williams, who has no intention of returning home
with her shuttle crewmates this month.
That's because
the 41-year-old Needham, Mass. native will relieve
Reiter as an Expedition 14 flight engineer, and then stay on to join the Expedition
15 crew next year. Reiter will take Williams' place aboard Discovery on its
return to Earth. Like Fuglesang and many of her STS-116 crewmates, Williams is
making her first spaceflight. But she expects to spend more than six months in
Earth orbit.
"I can't
imagine not loving it," Williams said in an interview, adding that she'll
make her spacewalk debut during the third STS-116 EVA. "I'm really looking
forward to STS-116. It's going to really break me in to learn how to work in
space."
Williams
joined the U.S. Navy--where she holds the rank of commander--in 1987, and took
flight as a helicopter pilot. She was deployed aboard the amphibious assault
ship USS Saipan when she was selected for NASA's astronaut program in 1998.
Reaching the
ISS has been a goal for Williams since her NASA
arrival, and she supported the Expedition
1 mission in 2000 and 2001, and spent nine days underwater aboard the Aquarius
Undersea Laboratory during NASA's NEEMO 2 mission.
In addition to her role as an ISS flight engineer, Williams will also serve as
NASA's ISS science officer for part of her mission--a responsibility she does
not take lightly.
"We're up
there, using the ISS to figure out how to go to other places in the universe," Williams said, adding
that understanding planets like Mars
is crucial to humanity's future on Earth
and among the stars. "So, the
space station is just a stepping stone to get us to understand space, how to
live and work in space, and then potentially get back to the Moon."
While Williams
and her husband Michael are acquainted to long periods apart--the result of her
deployments to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Persian Gulf--she does confess
that she'll miss her "crazy" Jack Russell terrier Gorby. The pup will
stay with Williams' mother during the upcoming spaceflight, though the
astronaut longed to bring him along.
"I would
love to," Williams said. "I'm going to miss the little booger."
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