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VOICE ONE:
This is Ray Freeman.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English programEXPLORATIONS. Today, we tell about how astronauts prepare to leavethe safety of the International Space Station and work outside inthe very dangerous environment of space.
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VOICE ONE:
All astronauts who have worn protective clothing and left aspacecraft to work in space have told about the beautiful sightsthey see. While working in space they can see most of the Earth astheir orbit carries them around our planet. In the stillness ofspace, it is easy to forget that they are traveling at severalthousand kilometers an hour. The great beauty they see makes it easyto forget that they are working in an extremely dangerousenvironment.
VOICE TWO:
American Astronaut Don Pettitrecently returned to Earth as a member of crew number six of theInternational Space Station. He returned to Earth with AmericanAstronaut Ken Bowersox and Russian Cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin. MisterPettit was the International Space Station science officer. He andthe other crewmembers spent almost six months in space. During thattime Mister Pettit wrote several reports for the American spaceagency about his experiences.
One of the most interesting reports is about what the crewmembers must do to prepare to leave the space station and worksafely in space. Doug Johnson reads the words of American AstronautDon Pettit.
VOICE PETTIT:
Have you ever seen a movie about crewmembers on a spacecraft whohave to go outside to fight evil creatures or repair a hole in theirspacecraft? They quickly put on their space suits and leave the shipin just a few seconds.
Well, maybe in the distant future we may be able to do it thatquickly. However, getting ready to leave the safety of theInternational Space Station can take as long as one week. Nothinghappens fast while preparing for a trip outside the space station.
The first thing you must know is that no mistakes can be made.Space is an extremely dangerous environment. Making a mistake inspace is not like making a mistake on a school test. A mistake inspace can cost you your life.
The major problem with preparing to go outside is the huge amountof work that must be completed. There are many small details buteach is very important.
For example, many rubber rings are placed between each part ofthe space suit as it is linked together. Each of these rubber ringshelps prevent air from leaking out of the protecting clothing. Eachof these rings is very important and must be inspected. Damagedrings must be replaced.
VOICE ONE:
Don Pettit says the first major job that must be performed iscleaning the small room that is the link between the space stationand outside. The astronauts are careful about cleaning the roombecause they do not want anything to move into space by accident. Aforgotten tool or object could cause severe damage or block theirwork.
This small room is called an airlock. It has two doors — one tothe inside of the space station and the other to the outside andspace. But as Astronaut Pettit explains, leaving the space stationis still several days away. He explains how the space suit iscarefully put together.
VOICE PETTIT:
The space suit comes in many parts. We keep it in a special case.We have a huge book that lists all of the parts and each of thetasks that must be done. It takes a great deal of time to read eachstep that must be performed and to attend to each detail. First,there are the batteries that will supply the electric power to theequipment in the suit.
The batteries supply power for the lights on the helmet thatcovers the astronaut’s head and a video camera on the helmet.Another battery supplies heat to the special gloves that cover thehands. The heat is needed to protect our hands from the fierce coldof space.
The many batteries are inspected and connected to the powersupply of the space station. It can take several hours for thebatteries to receive the full amount of electricity. You do not wantto be outside and have a battery fail.
Next we work on the equipment that will permit us to breathe. Allhumans produce carbon dioxide when they breathe. This natural gasmust be taken out of the air supply we carry.
A special device in the breathing equipment takes the carbondioxide out of the air. This device has a special chemical that mustbe heated in an oven for about fourteen hours before it can be used.This is an extremely important job.
Each piece of equipment, each device, each link must beinspected. When the testing and inspecting are done, we put on thespace suit for more tests. The book has a list of tests that mustnow be performed. Everything is carefully tested following theinstructions in the book. If everything works as it should, thetests and inspections are complete.
VOICE TWO:
In the movies, an astronaut putson his space suit and is ready to go. As Don Pettit says, it is notthat simple for real astronauts. It is impossible for one person toput on all the necessary protective clothing before going intospace. Everyone needs help. Don Pettit says that like most tasks inthe International Space Station, putting on a space suit is a teameffort.
VOICE PETTIT:
At the beginning of a space walk day, we ride an exercisebicycle. We do this wearing a breathing device that providesone-hundred percent oxygen. The atmosphere inside the space stationis the same as that on Earth. The atmosphere is twenty percentoxygen and eighty percent nitrogen. Air pressure inside the spacestation is the same as it is on Earth. However the space suit wemust wear outside does not have the same air pressure.
If there were any nitrogen in our bodies it would cause severeproblems if we quickly went from one air pressure to the other. Thisproblem is called “the bends.” Deep-sea divers must deal with thesame problem. So, we breathe one-hundred percent oxygen until itforces all of the nitrogen from our bodies. We will continue tobreathe only oxygen while we are in the space suit.
Now we begin the task of putting on the space suit. A crewmemberhelps with the many connections, links, locks and other equipment onthe space suit. Many of the connections make a nice clicking soundwhen they are linked together correctly. We carefully listen forthat sound. Our lives depend on it. Like all of our other jobs,putting on the space suit is done using our list of instructions.Nothing is left to chance. Getting dressed in a space suit takesabout six hours from the time you start in the morning to the timeyou are ready to open the door and step out into space.
VOICE ONE:
The crewmember who is helping the astronaut with the many partsof the space suit has one last job to perform. The astronaut goingoutside is fitted with a special device that is linked to the backof the space suit. This device is filled with high-pressure nitrogengas.
It permits the astronaut to fly back to the space station if hewere to accidentally move too far away from the spacecraft. Movingtoo far away from the space station without this device would be adeadly mistake. Nothing could be done to bring the astronaut back tothe space station.
The crewmember now helps the others safely enter the room thatwill permit them to enter space. Again, everything is tested. Thenthe door to the International Space Station is tightly closed andlocked. Don Pettit explains what happens next.
VOICE PETTIT:
Slowly, the air inside the littleroom is released into space. After all of the air is gone, the doorto space is opened. My first time going outside, the door would notopen completely.
It just would not open. After all the work we did getting readywe thought we might have to go back inside. We could even see theextremely bright light of the sun showing through the small openingon the edge of the door. It was only a small piece of rubber thatkept the door from opening. At the last moment, it did open and westepped out into space.
It really was worth the hard work. Working outside the spacestation is a beautiful experience. However, if this were a movieabout chasing bad guys in space, I am afraid they would have gottenaway long before we were ready.
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VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Paul Thompson and produced by MarioRitter. Doug Johnson was the voice of Astronaut Don Pettit. This isSteve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Ray Freeman. Join us again next week for anotherEXPLORATIONS program in Special English on the Voice of America.