NASA
astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria is settling back into life on Earth after
setting new records as commander of the International Space Station (ISS).
A veteran
of four spaceflights, Lopez-Alegria commanded the Expedition
14 mission to the ISS, where he set new U.S. endurance and spacewalking records
during the seven-month spaceflight.
"It's
almost surreal just looking back at it," the former space station commander
told SPACE.com Thursday. "It was just such an adventure, and it seems
distant already, unfortunately."
Back
from space
A U.S. Navy
captain, Lopez-Alegria launched towards the ISS in September 2006 with
Expedition 14 flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin and American space tourist
Anousheh Ansari. He returned with Tyurin and another space tourist -- American
billionaire Charles Simonyi -- on April 21 after 215 days in space.
He and
Tyurin have spent the last month readapting to life under the constant tug of Earth's
gravity, despite adhering to a rigorous daily exercise plan while aboard the
space station. Astronauts routinely lose muscle mass and bone density during
long-duration missions in space.
"I think it
takes about a week or two to get back to 80 or 90 percent, and I think it's
going to take a lot longer to get that last 10 percent back," Lopez-Alegria
said. "But so far, so good."
Expedition
14 marked the longest single spaceflight by a NASA astronaut, earning
Lopez-Alegria one of several orbital titles during his seven-month flight. He
also performed
five spacewalks with various crewmates, bringing his career total up to 10
and total spacewalking time to more than 67 hours -- both NASA records.
"We really
are just in the right place at the right time when they're broken,"
Lopez-Alegria, 48, said of the new records. While the 215-day U.S. endurance
record may last -- NASA strives to limit ISS flights to six months -- the
spacewalking records will likely be broken during future ISS construction or
lunar excursions, the astronaut added.
Lopez-Alegria
said he is unsure what's next for his astronaut career, though he may continue
to mentor new spaceflyers as he did for former
crewmate Sunita Williams, who joined the station's Expedition 14 crew as a
rookie only to evolve into a seasoned veteran by the time she stayed on to join
the Expedition 15 crew last month.
"I think I've
achieved about all I can achieve flying in space," he said, adding that he
looks forward to the planned 2010 completion of the ISS and NASA's plan to return astronauts to the
Moon. "I think it's time...We need to keep pushing not just for the
exploration itself, but for the development of the technology it will take to get
there."
Earthly
comforts
Lopez-Alegria
said that, in addition to the joy of reuniting with his family, lying down on a
comfortable bed has been one of the highlights of returning Earth.
"I have had
plenty of time doing that," he said, adding that simple pleasures like having a
variety of foods at mealtime also rank high.
At the same
time, he will miss the splendor of floating weightless, performing experiments
and looking down at his home planet from 220 miles (354 kilometers) up,
Lopez-Alegria said.
One moment,
in particular, will remained etched in the astronaut's memory and occurred early
on in the Expedition 14 mission, when Lopez-Alegria and his crewmates watched
their predecessors -- Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov, flight engineer
Jeff Williams and Ansari -- returned to Earth in September.
"We were
able to watch their reentry and we could actually see the vehicle separate into
three pieces," Lopez-Alegria said, referring to the moment when the Soyuz
spacecraft's bell-shaped crew capsule discarded the no-longer needed propulsion
and orbital modules. "And that was very spectacular to see."
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