Deluge...

As of a few minutes ago (noon), I've received five translation requests, three of which I've declined (two others have a long enough lead time that I can do them either after hours or tomorrow afternoon). I've got a refresher class on the "Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue" (SAFER) in about 40 minutes. Tomorrow's training will be on the ECWS.

I can't wait.

Yesterday, my "work station" was a pretty desolate place for most of the day. Today, it's been like Penn Station in Manhattan during the height of rush hour. Yuri Usachev stopped by to shake everyone's hand and remarked to me that it was nice to see someone in a tie around here. I will assume he wasn't cracking wise (an easy assumption to make; he is - as are most cosmonauts - pretty straightforward and easy to get along with), though I do notice that ties are a rarity in this environment.

I feel as if I'm really getting back into the swing of things. I don't know if that's intrinsically good or not; I'm not going to worry about it.

Cheers...

All trained up...

The last time I was at the VR Lab at JSC was over five years ago, when I supported Gennadi Padalka for a SAFER training session. Today, as part of a general effort to certify (and recertify) interpreters, I attended a session tailored for those of us - myself included - undergoing the process.

Basically, the SAFER is a device designed to get a free-floating astronaut back to the station after getting separated from the station for some reason. Such separation is never supposed to happen, since the current practice while doing an extravehicular activity, or EVA, is to use two tethers during such activities to make sure astronauts are never actually disconnected from the station (or the Shuttle, for that matter, when doing an EVA from that spacecraft).

I and another interpreter were given the 50-cent tour, stepped through the checkout procedure a couple of times, and then mounted and removed the device from a simulated space suit. Afterward, it was time to "jack in" to the VR setup they have erected in the back of the facility. Here's a shot of yours truly, looking at the station from a vantage point directly above a docked Shuttle orbiter, with a controller in my gloved hands.


The graphics are better now than they were five years ago, and include some detail on the surface of the Earth, which from my vantage point appeared to float above me. I could not identify where over the Earth I was, but I did recognize the constellation Orion as I looked around the station after successfully gaining the handrail around the airlock hatch.

All in all, it was a memorable training session. I'll not likely forget the curriculum.

Cheers...