Dr. Sian Proctor and Hayley Arceneaux.Photo: Courtesy SpaceX
Every day of my life, there is some aspect of Inspiration4 preparation — exercise, study, planning, etc. Every few weeks we train either on site at SpaceX in California or another location for specialized sessions. Spending time in June at SpaceX was extra special to me because it was the first time the four of us trained together in the simulator of the Dragon capsule that will be orbiting the Earth, more than 500 km (311 miles) above our atmosphere, which is deeper into space than the International Space Station. At one point, we got into our assigned seats for the first time, while wearing our space suits. As I sat in my window seat in the leftmost position, I looked to my right at my crewmates Sian, Chris and Jared, and it just all felt so right and exciting. It felt like we were all exactly where we were supposed to be. This was one of those moments that made it feel so real.
Chris Sembroski, Dr. Sian Proctor, Jared Isaacman and Hayley Arceneaux.Courtesy SpaceX
One big takeaway is that we’ll be in close quarters! The capsule is 26-feet high and 13-feet wide on the outside — that’s pretty tight for four people to live in for three days, which is the duration of our mission. Going through the motions of how we will live in it is important as there is little room for error. For this training session, we dressed in our space suits and went over how to attach and remove our seat restraints to keep us from floating around, how to go to the bathroom (it’s a hidden compartment behind a panel), how to eat the space food, and how to sleep.
RELATED VIDEO: Meet 2 Members of the First All-Civilian Space Crew, Who Are on Inspiration4-SpaceX Mission
I usually don’t have trouble sleeping, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to sleep comfortably strapped to the seat, which lays flat, and while wearing noise-canceling earphones to keep out the sounds of the engines that go off frequently to keep us in our orbit trajectory. We also practiced letting down the window shades, which are important to maintain darkness because as we orbit the Earth every 90 minutes, there will be alternating 45 minutes of daylight and 45 minutes of darkness throughout the mission. Some of the astronauts I’ve spoken to say it’s the best sleep ever because there are no pressure points on the body thanks to zero gravity. When it comes time to wake up eight hours later, the “Cap Comm” — the capsule communication person talking to us from Earth — will wake us up with a different song each day. The songs will be a surprise, but they know I like Reggaeton, so maybe one morning we’ll wake up toBad Bunny, and I’ll say, “Buenos dias space!”
To learn . Jude Children’s Research Hospital, theInspiration4mission and ways you can support and participate, visitstjude.org/inspiration4. Fans can alsofollow Hayley’s personal journey into space on Twitter.
source: people.com
