{"id":1196,"date":"2024-05-10T10:51:38","date_gmt":"2024-05-10T10:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland\/?p=1196"},"modified":"2024-05-10T10:51:38","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T10:51:38","slug":"meet-astronaut-don-thomas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/highlights\/meet-astronaut-don-thomas\/05-2024","title":{"rendered":"Meet Astronaut Don Thomas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This month in Leicester, a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet veteran astronaut of NASA\u2019s Space Shuttle programme, Don Thomas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\ufeffDon Thomas has travelled around the world. Literally around it: orbiting Earth 692 times. He\u2019s travelled 17,600,000 miles, and has logged over 1,040 hours in space working as a NASA astronaut making four separate flights into space on two different Space Shuttle orbiters. He\u2019s also been to Leicester, and he\u2019s returning again this June for the third visit in his career to the city\u2019s National Space Centre to spend a day meeting people who want to hear first hand about what it\u2019s like to go into space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe visit is organised by Nick and Bryar Deakin, who founded a not-for-profit company, InspireSpace CIC Ltd (astronautevents.co.uk), which runs events and programmes to enable people to take an active role in Space and learn about the experience of space travel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects all feed into space exploration, making it a great potential source of inspiration for young people with its ability to encourage their interest in the subjects. It certainly worked for Don.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was six years old, growing up in Cleveland, Ohio,\u201d says Don. \u201cWe were all ushered into the school hall one day to watch Alan Shepard become the second person and the first American to travel into space on the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission. It was my ambition from that moment to become an astronaut, and that really encouraged me to do well at school and to eventually work towards a doctorate in Materials Science at Cornell University.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019s academic specialism was the conductive properties of materials in the field of electronics. Following his education, he worked for telecoms company AT&T Bell and for Lockheed. Never losing his ambition to pursue a career in the space industry, in 1987 Don relocated 1,600 miles to Houston, and a year later, joined NASA as a materials engineer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took four attempts to achieve selection as a NASA astronaut, obtaining his pilot\u2019s license, then gaining a qualification in IFR (instrument) flying whilst working at the Lyndon B Johnson Space Center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 1990 Don was selected by NASA to become an Astronaut Candidate, and officially became an astronaut in July 1991, then working in the safety, operations, payloads and CAPCOM branches of mission control, whilst being trained in each of the different aspects of Space Shuttle operation including how to fly \u2013 and how to land \u2013 one billion dollars worth of spacecraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Astronaut Candidates are assigned to a specific mission, usually 18 months to two years in advance, and they spend at least a year training for their specific role on that flight. Don was assigned to STS-65 which would see the Space Shuttle Columbia take off from Kennedy Space Centre on 8th July 1994. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commanded by Robert Cabana and with Don serving as a mission specialist, overseeing the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2), it was the 17th flight that Columbia had performed out of a total of 28 missions (travelling a total of 125,000,000 miles and orbiting Earth 4,808 times) including STS-83 and STS-94 for which Don was also on board \u2013 he would also fly on Discovery, the most well-used of the five Space Shuttles on STS-70.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe intervening time is spent studying and keeping fit,\u201d says Don. \u201cThere\u2019s not an adrenaline rush in the lead up to the flight because it\u2019s a long build-up to the event and you\u2019re used to working in the space industry, using simulators and being in that environment. It\u2019s routine and it\u2019s your career, so it\u2019s more a sense of professional anticipation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSaying goodbye to my wife, though, was tough. \u2018See you in two weeks,\u2019 is what we said, not countenancing the reality that something could go wrong. NASA allows you to spend time with your partner if they\u2019ve been declared medically sound, but they don\u2019t allow you to see your children as they\u2019re considered a greater potential source of viruses or infections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are two shifts in the run up to a launch, and I was on the night shift, so I was already on site, and with lift-off scheduled for noon, we were inside the orbiter by around 10am.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c30 seconds before lift-off, the on-board computers take over the launch sequence and ignite the three engines, one at a time, building to 90% thrust. At T-minus zero seconds, the explosive bolts holding the spacecraft release, the solid rocket boosters ignite and 2,000 tonnes of Space Shuttle starts to move upwards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re 10% terrified and 90% excited, fairly insulated from the noise. But the amount of vibration is huge and with three times the force of gravity on you, the pressure on your chest is significant, making breathing more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTwo minutes into the flight, at an altitude of about 28 miles, the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) detach and after eight and a half minutes, as you\u2019re travelling at the speed of sound, the engines throttle back and then shut down. A couple of minutes later you\u2019re in low orbit and suddenly everything is quiet and serene. There\u2019s no time to process it though as the whole mission is subject to a flight plan, and without a second to contemplate where you are, my immediate task was to use a camera on board to photograph the large orange external fuel tank out of the window to check for any damage that may have occurred during lift-off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWeightlessness isn\u2019t gradual, it\u2019s immediate when the engines are switched off. Being dry in a pool of water is a comparable sensation, but there\u2019s drag in water, so eventually you come to a stop. There\u2019s no drag in a weightless environment and some things are really easy, like moving objects around. Other (normally very simple) tasks become quite frustrating though, and on balance I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that I quite like gravity!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Space Shuttle is a very functional place to be: small, crowded but comfortable enough. 30 years ago we were able to exchange a text-based message or so each day with our loved ones back home, and we could make a \u2018phone call\u2019 about five minutes in duration (in public) via mission control halfway through the 15-day flight. Today there\u2019s more unlimited access to the internet in space, so communication can be more regular.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI took a book with me, but there\u2019s little to do but work and sleep on board. On the ISS you\u2019re afforded more free time but during a mission two weeks in duration, we\u2019re all worked hard to ensure your time can be as productive as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps mercifully, Don\u2019s shuttle flights were after the Challenger disaster and before the loss of Columbia in 2003, so the crews on board his missions always regarded take-off as the most hazardous part of a shuttle mission, there was a sense of relief when it was over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe journey back to Earth is an incredible experience. For ten minutes as you\u2019re re-entering the atmosphere the shuttle reaches over 1,000\u00b0c, and just four feet away from my head is a window, beyond which is a massive fireball of plasma with bright pink and orange colours streaking 20ft along the orbiter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don would return to space on three more missions, and eventually retired from NASA in 2007. What do you do after a career like that, I wondered. \u201cI really did come back down to Earth,\u201d Don recalls. \u201cWhen I landed it was to applause, as an American hero. Back home though, my wife told me in no uncertain terms that after two weeks of being away, it was my time to take out the trash and change our young son\u2019s diapers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve found a new passion in life now, education. It\u2019s an incredibly uplifting experience to share in people\u2019s enthusiasm and to answer questions. People are always fascinated not necessarily by the technicalities of going to space, but with day-to-day life in space like how to eat and sleep. The most frequently asked question is always \u2018how do you go to the toilet in space?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does that make Don roll his eyes? \u201cNo! I\u2019m thrilled to be asked every question, even the same question, every single time. I\u2019m really privileged to be able to share my experience, and if I can inspire people, especially young people, to take an interest in STEM subjects and in space, I\u2019m always happy to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to return to Leicester, where we\u2019ve a \u2018breakfast with an astronaut\u2019 event planned, and opportunities to ask questions and generally discover more about space travel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a moment that you look out of the Space Shuttle window and see Earth, so far away. Suddenly you feel far away and so disconnected from home, which is emotional. But that also means that upon your return, you feel incredibly grateful for our precious planet and for the opportunity to be with the people you love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don Thomas is appearing at Leicester\u2019s National Space Centre, Exploration Drive, Leicester LE4 5NS, on Sunday 9th June. Tickets for the Centre\u2019s Breakfast with an Astronaut and Q&A sessions are available at www.spacecentre.co.uk or by calling 0116 261 0261.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This month in Leicester, a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet veteran astronaut of NASA\u2019s Space Shuttle programme, Don…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[365,223,366,367,364],"class_list":["post-1196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","tag-astronaut","tag-leicester","tag-nasa","tag-national-space-centre","tag-space"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1196"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1199,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1196\/revisions\/1199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}