Spacefaring by Albert A. Harrison

Author:Albert A. Harrison [Harrison, Albert A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Psychology, General, Science, Social Science, Sociology, vl-nfspace
ISBN: 9780520236776
Google: vaFEIZMqLWgC
Amazon: 0520236777
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 2002-10-01T03:53:21+00:00

CHAPTER 9

AT WORK

In the earliest days of spaceflight, the basic requirement was to go into space and get back alive. Over the years, however, other tasks have been added. Now, spacefarers not only fly and maintain spacecraft, they launch and retrieve small satellites, conduct scientific research, construct space stations, and otherwise develop the infrastructure for the long-term habitation and industrialization of space. They also engage in less glamorous activities, such as repairing life support systems, vacuuming filters, packing garbage, preparing food, flattening out empty containers, and unpacking and stowing equipment. There is always more work to do than can be accomplished easily, and work assignments may be timed to the minute. Even when he was asleep on Mir, writes Jerry Linenger, he had electrodes pasted to his eyelids so that he could generate scientific data. “I wanted to complete all goals—no exceptions,” writes Linenger, “and if I had to be something of a robot, so be it.”1

On the space shuttle, pilot astronauts (briefly introduced in chapter 6) are responsible for making command decisions and for flying the spacecraft. These include the commander, who sits in the left front seat and who is in charge of the overall mission (something like the captain of a ship), and the pilot, who sits in the right front seat and whose role is analogous to that of the copilot in aviation. The commander is responsible for the safety of the vehicle and crew and for mission success. The pilot helps the commander control and operate the shuttle and may operate the remote manipulator, a robot arm, to deploy and retrieve satellites. Pilot astronauts, with their background as jet aviators, are the closest direct descendants of the “right stuff” astronauts of the 1960s.

Mission specialists provide technical support for the spacecraft and mission. They manage the habitat and its equipment, ensure that life support systems are functioning properly, handle logistical details, and maintain supplies. They work as flight engineers and are responsible for orbital activities: overseeing payloads and experiments, undertaking space walks, and, when the responsibility is not assigned to the pilot, controlling the remote manipulator. Although well versed in the overall mission requirements and goals, their specific responsibilities vary from mission to mission.

Payload specialists do the scientific or commercial work that justifies the mission. Payload specialists include earth scientists, life scientists, engineers, and others who have great expertise in a technical area crucial for achieving that mission’s objectives. Most of today’s payload specialists are research scientists, but a few have worked on commercial projects such as placing and retrieving satellites, making observations that benefit world agriculture or commerce, and trying out manufacturing processes. Future payload specialists may operate solar power stations, mine the lunar surface, produce commercial goods under conditions of microgravity, entertain tourists, and transport ore around our solar system. Performing under a variety of occupational titles, tomorrow’s payload specialists could spend their entire adult lives working in space.

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