Kathryn D. Sullivan est
astronaute américaine et est docteur en géologie.
Elle se spécialise notamment en télédétection spatiale.
Elle se spécialise notamment en télédétection spatiale.
Elle est sélectionnée par la
NASA en 1978 dans le fameux groupe 8.
Elle mènera plusieurs projets de télédétection pour la NASA, notamment avec l’avion de haute-altitude WB-57F et sera une des responsables du SIR-B (Shuttle Imaging Radar-B).
C’est en partie à ce titre qu’elle est affectée à la mission STS-41G en 1984.
Elle mènera plusieurs projets de télédétection pour la NASA, notamment avec l’avion de haute-altitude WB-57F et sera une des responsables du SIR-B (Shuttle Imaging Radar-B).
C’est en partie à ce titre qu’elle est affectée à la mission STS-41G en 1984.
Toujours lors de cette
mission, elle deviendra la première américaine à
effectuer une EVA (la russe S. Savitskaia devenant la 1ère
femme à effectuer une EVA quelques semaines auparavant).
Elle effectuera en tout trois
missions spatiales (STS-41G, STS-31 et STS-45) avant de quitter la NASA en
1993.
Elle deviendra par la suite
responsable scientifique du NOAA puis directrice du COSI (Center of Science and
Industry).
Elle enseigne actuellement à l’Université de l’Ohio.
Elle enseigne actuellement à l’Université de l’Ohio.
Kathryn Sullivan nous parle
ici de sa première mission STS-41G (5 au 13 octobre 1984).
Interview réalisée en juin 2013
How many years were
you connected to the space program prior to your 1st flight ?
Fifteen Years (1978-1993)
How did you feel
prior to the 1st flight ?
Eager to take off and get to work
What kinds of
sensations did you experienced during take-off ?
A Space Shuttle launch is like a magnitude 4 earthquake plus a huge push in
your back.
You are embedded in a tremendous ball of energy and very aware of how
rapidly it accelerating away from the planet.
What does
weightlessness feel like, and what did you think about during the flight ?
Weightlessness is delightful.
It’s a lot like scuba diving when your buoyancy is balanced very precisely.
I thought a lot about my jobs, of course, but also about how amazing it was
to be there, and to feel to completely comfortable in such an extraordinary
environment.
And, of course, I marveled at how the Earth looked below me.
What were some of
the problems you encountered and how did you fixed them and what were your feelings
during your EVA ?
We had no problems with our spacesuits, but did have a problem with an
antenna on the Shuttle (SIR-B) that delayed our spacewalk until very late in the
flight.
We spent four anxious days wondering if the spacewalk would be cancelled.
Happyly, it was not, and fixing the antenna got added to the list of things
we needed to do.
All time during a spacewalk is scheduled very precisely, so we did not have
very much time to think about anything other than our work.
The few moments we were able to look at the Earth and really absorb the
experience were very precious.
(l'antenne de SIR-B) |
(Kathryn Sullivan et David Leetsma) |
We ate the kind of foods that mountaineers eat on climbing expeditions.
It tasted pretty good. We were not very worried about having great meals,
because we were spending our days in orbit.
(Kathryn Sullivan, première américaine à marcher dans l'espace, et la première américaine dans l'espace, Sally Ride) |
What was re-entry
like ?
Re-entry is partly like sitting in a white-hot blast furnace and partly
like a very smooth and quiet glider flight.
You travel halfway around the planet during re-entry.
As the atmosphere slows you down, Zero-gravity slowly gives way to normal
Earth’s gravity, which makes your body feel much heavier than it seemed before
launch.
I could have spent more time in space, but I also quickly found earthly things that made me glad to be home, from family and friends to feeling of wind and water flowing over my skin and the sounds of birds.
(Timbres holographiques avec hommage à Kathryn Sullivan et la mission STS-41G sur les enveloppes) |
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