About life at 350,000 meters high

Tracy Caldwell Dyson, astronaut and specialist in atmospheric chemistry and pilotage, contemplates the Earth through the International Space Station’s windows, at 350 km altitude.

This photo was taken in September 2010 in the “Cupola” observatory module, which has seven windows used to conduct experiments, dockings and observations of Earth. It  takes only 90 minutes to circle the Earth completely.

Tracy Caldwell Dyson, with four medals of merit and three NASA spacewalk missions, became the mentor of thousands of young people who want to pursue their dream:

„When you are young, you are told to pursue your dreams; to reach for the unreachable and somehow accomplish the impossible (…). A teacher, Christa McAuliffe, was selected to be an astronaut. [She] inspired me to search and reach for a goal that I thought was unreachable.

I inherited a love for craftsmanship and working with tools from my father, who was an electrician (…). I had also taken time to learn American Sign Language (ASL) in high school, which instilled an appreciation for learning new languages. It seemed that a job that included each of these aspects would be a perfect fit. After finishing high school, I attended California State at Fullerton and pursued my interest in chemistry (…). I decided to become a research assistant and continue with my education at graduate school, which eventually culminated in a PhD from the University of California at Davis. However, I still wanted to pursue my original goal of becoming an astronaut.

Upon the completion of graduate school, I decided it was time to apply. At the same time I submitted my astronaut application, I began a post-doctoral fellowship in chemistry at the University of California at Irvine.  I waited about a year for a call back from NASA and the chance to interview (…). I was nervous to say the least, but I decided that the best course of action was to just be myself; it was my only chance at capturing my dream.

Several months later, while at work in my lab at UC Irvine, I received a phone call. I was completely frozen. The Chief of the Astronaut Office was on the line and asked if I wanted to begin training as an astronaut for NASA. I was so shocked I hyperventilated and was unable to speak, so he then asked me to consider the position and that he would call back later to get my final decision [the success story continues].

During my time in space, one of my favorite things I was able to do was make a video for the deaf community to tell them about the International Space Station and life onboard [Note].

On the space station, the whole crew was ecstatic about the video and fascinated to learn some sign language. Each crewmate had a speaking role in the video. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to invite everyone on board, no matter what language they spoke.

Through the ten years astronauts have been living in space, NASA has gotten smarter about how to keep them happy and healthy. Much of that involves keeping in touch with family.  Naturally, it’s a greater challenge from orbit, even greater when your husband is at the same time deployed on a naval carrier, flying jets, and helping to defend our country. Though we made contact almost every other weekend, there were often long periods of time when we didn’t hear from each other. With jobs like ours, we just kept faith in God that each other were safe. Time spent with him during family conferences certainly made for some of the most personally meaningful moments of my life on orbit.

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned on my journey of becoming and serving as an astronaut for NASA, is to not give away my self-confidence (…). You come into this world with a set of God-given talents, and who are you to shy away from them?  It’s a strange fear that you’re not good enough (…). The path of life [seems] to stand beside you like a coach yelling from the sidelines. I’ve learned there’s a way to deafen that voice in your head that chips away self esteem and makes you hesitate (…).

The road you want, though, takes belief, determination, and balance (there’s such a thing as too much confidence). Best course is to know yourself and like who you are. Understand what it is you enjoy doing and don’t worry if it doesn’t match what motivates “everyone else”. You are the best at being you (and not someone else) and are at your best when what you do makes you happy. Great is what you’ll be and confidence is the bag you carry it in” (Tracy Caldwell Dyson).

[Note] To access Tracy Caldwell Dyson’s videos created for deaf people about the International Space Station and life onboard you can click on: video 1, video 2, video 3, video 4 and video 5.

Pro Jesus’ sources:

Caldwell Dyson T., „Tracy Caldwell-Dyson”, WomenNasa.gov, September 3, 2015

***, “Biographical Data”, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, July 2014

***, „La misssion STS 131”, Capcom Espace, accessed on October 7, 2015