Interview avec Ken Cockrell, astronaute et Pilote / Commandant de la navette spatiale lors des missions STS-56, 69, 80, 98 et 111

Kenneth ''Ken'' Taco COCKRELL est un astronaute de la NASA sélectionné en 1990 dans le groupe 13.

Ancien pilote d'essai de l'US Navy, il a effectué 5 missions spatiales dont 3 en tant que Commandant de mission (STS-56, STS-69, STS-80, STS-98 et STS-111).
Actuellement, responsable du Programme WF-57F de la NASA.

 

 

Interview réalisée en 2009

Q : How many years were you connected to the space program before your 1st flight ?

A : I worked as a NASA Pilot from 1987 until 1990. I as in astronaut training from 1990 until my first flight in 1993.
 

Q : How did you feel prior the flight ?

A : Excited and little nervous - I was hoping I would not forgot anything !
 

Q : What kinds of sensations did you experienced during the take-off ?

A : It's an exciting ride ! But I felt like I had seen it all before because of the excellent simulator training.

 

Q : What does weightlessness feel like, and what did you think about during the flight ?

A : It felts like you are flying ! Flying as you dreamed it as a child !
 

Q : What were some of the problems you encountered and how did you fixed them ?

A : We had one experiment that was getting too hot. We made a duct - a long tube - out of paper and plastic, which took air from the shuttle's air conditioning and blew it on the experiment.
 

Q : What did you eat and did it taste real ?

A : I ate dried fruits and meals that I put water in and then heated in the oven. I also ate ready-to-eat meals, the same as our soldiers eat. The taste was great !
 

Q : What was Re-entry like ?

A : Very smooth, but I felt very heavy after 9 days weightless.
 

Q : Were you glad to be back on Earth, or did you feel you could have spent the rest of your life up there ?

A : I loved the flight and I also loved coming home - And I was ready to go back as soon as possible !