In a podcast with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut Victor Glover, veteran actor Tom Cruise was left stunned by Glover’s experiences onboard Space Exploration Technologies Corporation’s (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Glover was part of the NASA-SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station which took to the skies in November 2020 and became the first operational astronaut mission for the Crew Dragon spacecraft after NASA certified it following a demonstration mission earlier in the year. Cruise and Glover interacted over a NASA podcast titled “The Body in Space”, which was released this Friday for a conversation that took place in November last year. During their time, the two discussed Glover’s experience on SpaceX’s spacecraft, the importance and relevance of crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS) for Mars exploration and the extreme strength and endurance levels astronauts have to develop as part of their duty.
Riding On SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket Was The Best Part Of His Journey To ISS Says NASA Astronaut Victor Glover
The conversation started off with Cruise asking Glover about his experience of flying on the Falcon 9 rocket and how it compared with flying fighter aircraft. Glover is a Commander in the United States Navy, and he has piloted several aircraft during his career as a test pilot and a Navy aviator. When asked about how different SpaceX’s Crew Dragon felt when compared to these aircraft, which include the F/A-18 Hornet, Glover explained that the first difference he felt was the lack of physical controls on the Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX’s spaceship is designed to be flown solely through touchscreens, which is a different arrangement than that for fighter jets, as the latter involves pedals and a stick to control different flight aspects. The NASA astronaut went on to explain that: Cruise then honed in and asked Glover about the ‘g-forces’ on the Dragon. The g-force is described in aviation terminology as the force pilots and travelers have to encounter as they accelerate during flight, and Glover’s response mirrored the one he gave after his return to Earth in May last year. Cruise’s follow-up and Glover’s reply were as follows: The talk then shifted gears to also include Glover’s experience on the ISS. As part of his mission, the astronaut spent a whopping 168 days in space, during which he participated in four spacewalks. These required him to work on different parts of the ISS, such as its cameras, power equipment and modules. Victor Glover: Yes, and so it is different. In the fighter, the g go from your head to your toe, and that’s why we practiced these specific maneuvers, to, to keep blood flow to your brain so you stay conscious, and you don’t gray out or black out. The g in, on a rocket launch goes into your chest, and so, you naturally can, can sustain more g in that direction, and the g is actually lower. So, the maximum g we saw was about four and a half, but what’s different in a fighter, you’ll experience, I’ve pulled 9 g in a fighter aircraft, but that was only for seconds. And, you know, I’ve sustained, so, 3 to 4 g for maybe a minute or a minute and a half in a dog fight, in a turning fight. But, you know, on the Falcon, except for staging and throttle down, you are accelerating the entire way, for about nine minutes. It was about eight minutes and 50 or so seconds. I mean, and you’re accelerating the entire way because you wind up 200 kilometers above the Earth going 17,000 miles per hour. It’s an amazing amount of power. And so, we actually were above 3 and a half g for about three minutes, which is amazing. Glover described the strenuous experience of the spacewalks and spending long duration in microgravity to Cruise as being physically demanding and requiring extreme use of the hands and fingers. He also shared the effect spending time in space has on human bones. According to the astronaut:
NASA Astronaut Shares Experience Of Living and Working In Space
Glover also gained muscle mass during the mission and outlined how NASA is studying crew physiology immediately after returning to Earth to determine if they will have adequate strength to deal with emergencies on board the Crew Dragon. The spacecraft is designed to land in the water, which carries the risk of a breach and water flowing in, in which case the weary astronauts will have to deploy emergency equipment. . . . .And also, your bone density, we have this condition called osteopenia. It’s like space-induced osteoporosis. The enzymes that encourage bone growth, you know, our bones are constantly being reclaimed or eaten and then reconstituted. And in space, for some reason, the process that eats the bone or takes away bone, continues, but the part that reforms new bone slows down. And so we try to mitigate that with our strength training and also with medication. And so, the effects there can be, it can have a huge effect on you. But the workouts that we do are one of the biggest mitigators. And so, I actually started working out before the mission, and then when I got into space I continued to work out. We get two and a half hours every day to do exercise. Glover outlined in response to Cruise’s question about feeling weaker once he began his spacewalks that: In response to the astronaut’s observation that missions to Mars will require backup exercise equipment to ensure that the crew is strong enough to carry out activities on the surface, Cruise carried the discussion forward by asking: Glover’s reply: Delving deeper into his spacewalk experience, when asked about his favorite view of the Earth from the ISS, Glover outlined his initial amazement at looking at the Earth from a different orientation than a fighter pilot typically does: Responding to Cruise’s question about the experience of living on board the orbiting space laboratory, Glover stated that the smell on the space station is one of its most striking aspects. Describing the different smells for the different parts of the ISS, he explained:
Return Journey On SpaceX Crew Dragon Ends Calmly And Comfortably Explains Glover
Finally, the conversation entered its final leg when Cruise asked Glover about his experience returning to Earth. For this bit, the most striking part for the astronaut was the urge to relieve himself, as he had forgotten what the weight of a full bladder had felt like in microgravity, where less force is acting on the human body. Alongside, he also described the sensations felt during the various stages of the return journey: Safe to say, Cruise was stunned after hearing the astronaut’s experiences. During the 74-minute podcast, the actor used the word ‘incredible’ eight times, and its synonyms an additional seven times to describe Glover’s experiences. To listen to the complete podcast, head on over to Houston We Have a Podcast: The Body in Space. The podcast transcripts come courtesy of NASA. For more astronaut experiences on SpaceX’s spacecraft, take a look at:
SpaceX Dragon Vs Space Shuttle Vs Russian Soyuz – Astronaut Shares Key Flight Differences Astronaut Praises SpaceX Crew Dragon’s Smooth Return Ride Experience SpaceX Crew Dragon Is Roomier, But Has Longer Hard G Forces Than Russian Soyuz
