THE NUTS+BOLTS OF
ORBITAL
MECHANICS ASTRONAUT CHRIS HADFIELD OCCUPIES SPACE
A CANADIAN ROBOTIC “HANDSHAKE IN SPACE” OCCURRED ON APRIL 28, 2001 AS CANADARM2 (RIGHT) TRANSFERRED ITS LAUNCH CRADLE TO ENDEAVOUR’S ROBOTIC ARM. CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY ASTRONAUT CHRIS HADFIELD, STS100 MISSION SPECIALIST, WAS AT THE CONTROLS OF CANADARM FROM THE SHUTTLE. CREDIT NASA
‘WITH BOTH HANDS YOU PULL YOURSELF OUT INTO THE UNIVERSE… AND THE ONLY SENSE THAT TELLS YOU THAT YOU ARE THERE IS YOUR VISION’ For a man who has been in the aeronautics industry for twice as long as few of the well-known astronauts, Hadfield enjoys trading notes with his contemporaries. Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first human being to walk in space in 1965, and four years later Neil Armstrong became the first American to walk on the moon in 1969. They all became friends, often sharing their collective experiencebeing alone in between worlds. “With both hands you pull yourself out into the Universe… and the only sense that tells you that you are there is your vision,” he says describing the mesmerizing feeling of bursting into space wherein textures and colors are “stupefying beautiful.”
Territorial boundaries are irrelevant in space travel states Hadfield. Orbiting in space affirms that political barriers are broken down, eliminating any man-made boundaries. “There is a unifying emphasis on civilization,” he argues, sharing a unifying sentiment to protect humanity. He knows the challenges all too well, since he had intercepted Soviet jets while part of the Canadian Air Force in the 1980s. “I was flying fighter airplanes to intercept those Bears,” he says, referring to propeller-driven Bear Bombers, Tupolev Tu-95. With the end of the space shuttle missions, Hadfield expects several milestones in space travel under development since the space race.
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ABOVE: CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY ASTRONAUT AND STS-100 MISSION SPECIALIST CHRIS HADFIELD WAVES TO MEDIA ON HIS WAY TO LAUNCH PAD 39A AND LIFTOFF FOR AN 11-DAY MISSION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. CREDIT NASA RAGMAG | OCTOBER 2011
For the past sixty years private space companies competed in taking people into space at a relatively cheap cost, continuing an evolution of safe and affordable hardware. Already American launch vehicle and spacecraft developer, SpaceX is building cheaper launch pads to send cargo and crew into space. “We see a natural evolution of technology,” he says, quickly dismissing any revolutionary movements. Feeling optimistic about the Virgin Galactic that will potentially market missions for tourism, Hadfield hopes that private companies will find new ways to market space travel without the frenzy of the media interfering.
ABOVE, RIGHT: CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY ASTRONAUT CHRIS HADFIELD IS IN ENDEAVOUR’S FLIGHT DECK AREA AS THE SHUTTLE STEADILY MAKES ITS WAY TOWARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ON APRIL 20, 2001. CREDIT NASA