What it's like to live on the International Space Station
-
0:01 - 0:02I'm an astronaut.
-
0:03 - 0:05I flew on the space shuttle twice,
-
0:05 - 0:09and I lived on the International
Space Station for almost six months. -
0:09 - 0:15People often ask me the same question,
which is, "What's it like in space?" -
0:15 - 0:17as if it was a secret.
-
0:17 - 0:19Space belongs to all of us,
-
0:19 - 0:26and I'd like to help you understand why
it's a place that is magic for all of us. -
0:26 - 0:30The day after my 50th birthday,
-
0:30 - 0:33I climbed aboard a Russian capsule,
-
0:33 - 0:35in Russia,
-
0:35 - 0:37and launched into space.
-
0:37 - 0:41Launching is the most
dangerous thing that we do, -
0:41 - 0:42and it's also the most thrilling.
-
0:43 - 0:47Three, two, one ... liftoff!
-
0:47 - 0:52I felt every single bit of the controlled
fury of those rocket engines -
0:52 - 0:55as they blasted us off the Earth.
-
0:55 - 0:58We went faster and faster and faster,
-
0:58 - 1:03until, after eight and a half minutes,
on purpose, those engines stop -- -
1:04 - 1:05kabunk! --
-
1:05 - 1:07and we are weightless.
-
1:07 - 1:11And the mission and the magic begin.
-
1:11 - 1:15Dmitry and Paolo and I
are circling the Earth -
1:15 - 1:16in our tiny spacecraft,
-
1:16 - 1:19approaching the space station carefully.
-
1:19 - 1:24It's an intricate dance
at 17,500 miles an hour -
1:24 - 1:27between our capsule,
the size of a Smart Car, -
1:27 - 1:31and the space station,
the size of a football field. -
1:31 - 1:38We arrive when those two craft dock
with a gentle thunk. -
1:38 - 1:41We open the hatches,
-
1:41 - 1:44have sloppy zero-G hugs with each other,
-
1:44 - 1:46and now we're six.
-
1:46 - 1:49We're a space family, an instant family.
-
1:51 - 1:54My favorite part about living up there
-
1:54 - 1:56was the flying.
-
1:56 - 1:57I loved it.
-
1:57 - 1:59It was like being Peter Pan.
-
1:59 - 2:01It's not about floating.
-
2:01 - 2:03Just the touch of a finger
-
2:03 - 2:06can actually push you across
the entire space station, -
2:06 - 2:09and then you sort of
tuck in with your toes. -
2:09 - 2:13One of my favorite things
was drifting silently -
2:13 - 2:15through the space station,
-
2:15 - 2:17which was humming along at night.
-
2:17 - 2:20I wondered sometimes
if it knew I was there, -
2:20 - 2:22just silent.
-
2:22 - 2:26But sharing the wonder
of that with the crew -
2:26 - 2:29was also part of what was important to me.
-
2:30 - 2:36A typical day in space
starts with the perfect commute. -
2:36 - 2:39I wake up, cruise down the lab
-
2:39 - 2:43and say hello to the best
morning view ever. -
2:44 - 2:49It's a really fast commute,
only 30 seconds, -
2:49 - 2:51and we never get tired
of looking out that window. -
2:51 - 2:56I think it reminds us that we're
actually still very close to Earth. -
2:56 - 3:00Our crew was the second ever
to use the Canadian robotic arm -
3:00 - 3:04to capture a supply ship
the size of a school bus -
3:04 - 3:06containing about a dozen
different experiments -
3:06 - 3:10and the only chocolate that we would see
for the next four months. -
3:11 - 3:14Now, chocolate aside,
every single one of those experiments -
3:14 - 3:18enables yet one more
scientific question answered -
3:18 - 3:21that we can't do down here on Earth.
-
3:21 - 3:23And so, it's like a different lens,
-
3:23 - 3:26allowing us to see the answers
to questions like, -
3:27 - 3:28"What about combustion?"
-
3:28 - 3:31"What about fluid dynamics?"
-
3:31 - 3:33Now, sleeping is delightful.
-
3:33 - 3:36My favorite -- I mean, you could be
upside down, right side up -- -
3:36 - 3:39my favorite: curled up
in a little ball and floating freely. -
3:40 - 3:42Laundry? Nope.
-
3:42 - 3:46We load our dirty clothes
into an empty supply ship -
3:46 - 3:48and send it off into space.
-
3:48 - 3:49The bathroom.
-
3:49 - 3:51Everyone wants to know.
-
3:51 - 3:54It's hard to understand,
so I made a little video, -
3:54 - 3:56because I wanted kids to understand
-
3:56 - 3:59that the principle of vacuum saves the day
-
3:59 - 4:02and that just a gentle breeze
helps everything go -
4:02 - 4:04where it is supposed to.
-
4:04 - 4:06Well, in real life it does.
-
4:06 - 4:07(Laughter)
-
4:07 - 4:09Recycling? Of course.
-
4:09 - 4:14So we take our urine, we store it,
we filter it and then we drink it. -
4:14 - 4:15And it's actually delicious.
-
4:15 - 4:16(Laughter)
-
4:17 - 4:19Sitting around the table,
-
4:19 - 4:21eating food that looks bad
but actually tastes pretty good. -
4:22 - 4:24But it's the gathering around
the table that's important, -
4:24 - 4:28I think both in space and on Earth,
-
4:28 - 4:30because that's what cements
a crew together. -
4:31 - 4:35For me, music was a way to stay connected
to the rest of the world. -
4:35 - 4:38I played a duet between Earth and space
-
4:38 - 4:41with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull
-
4:41 - 4:44on the 50th anniversary
of human spaceflight. -
4:45 - 4:47Connecting to family was so important.
-
4:47 - 4:52I talked with my family almost every day
the whole time I was up there, -
4:52 - 4:57and I would actually read books to my son
as a way for us just to be together. -
4:57 - 4:58So important.
-
4:58 - 5:01Now, when the space station
would go over Massachusetts, -
5:01 - 5:02my family would run outside,
-
5:02 - 5:07and they would watch the brightest star
sailing across the sky. -
5:07 - 5:10And when I looked down,
I couldn't see my house, -
5:10 - 5:14but it meant a lot to me to know
that the people I loved the most -
5:14 - 5:17were looking up while I was looking down.
-
5:17 - 5:23So the space station, for me, is the place
where mission and magic come together. -
5:23 - 5:26The mission, the work are vital steps
-
5:26 - 5:28in our quest to go further than our planet
-
5:28 - 5:32and imperative for understanding
sustainability here on Earth. -
5:32 - 5:34I loved being a part of that,
-
5:34 - 5:36and if I could have taken
my family with me, -
5:37 - 5:38I never would have come home.
-
5:39 - 5:42And so my view from the station showed me
-
5:42 - 5:45that we are all from the same place.
-
5:45 - 5:48We all have our roles to play.
-
5:48 - 5:52Because, the Earth is our ship.
-
5:52 - 5:54Space is our home.
-
5:55 - 6:00And we are the crew of Spaceship Earth.
-
6:01 - 6:02Thank you.
-
6:02 - 6:03(Applause)
- Title:
- What it's like to live on the International Space Station
- Speaker:
- Cady Coleman
- Description:
-
In this quick, fun talk, astronaut Cady Coleman welcomes us aboard the International Space Station, where she spent nearly six months doing experiments that expanded the frontiers of science. Hear what it's like to fly to work, sleep without gravity and live life hurtling at 17,500 miles per hour around the Earth. "The space station is the place where mission and magic come together," Coleman says.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 06:16
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for What it's like to live on the International Space Station | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for What it's like to live on the International Space Station | ||
Oliver Friedman approved English subtitles for What it's like to live on the International Space Station | ||
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for What it's like to live on the International Space Station | ||
Camille Martínez accepted English subtitles for What it's like to live on the International Space Station | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for What it's like to live on the International Space Station | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for What it's like to live on the International Space Station | ||
Joseph Geni edited English subtitles for What it's like to live on the International Space Station |