Interview de John Blaha, astronaute de la NASA qui a effectué 4 vols en tant que pilote - commandant de la navette et 1 vol longue durée sur MIR

John Blaha, ancien pilote de l'US Air Force, est un astronaute de la NASA sélectionné en 1980 dans le Groupe 9.

 

 

Il effectue 5 vols spatiaux : 2 en tant que Pilote de la Navette (STS-29 et STS-33), 2 vols en tant que Commandant de la Navette (STS-43 et STS-58).

Son 5ème vol est un vol de longue durée à bord de MIR où il restera 128 jours (MIR 22).

Il quitte la NASA en 1997.

 

 

Interview réalisée en 2008 concernant son premier vol STS-29 

 

 

 

How many years were you connected to the space program prior to your 1st flight, STS-29 ?

Eight years

 

How did you feel prior to the flight ?

Great and very very excited !
 

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

A lot of Power... Very lot of Power... !!!
Incredible... !!!

 

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

Great - Like you are flying ...

 

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

None - Except some little, very little problems...
All resolved by us or our ground team...

(Largage du satellite TDRS-D lors de STS-29)

 

What did you eat, and did it taste real ?

Some food I eat on planet Earth...
It was funny because I was in space and eating the same food as my family and friends in same time !
 

What was re-entry like ?

The GREATEST RIDE OF THE WORLD !!!

 

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

I could have stayed in space ...