We are publishing excerpts from the stories of cosmonaut Sergei Ryazansky, one of the members of the current crew of the international station.
For a long time I had a desire to publish excerpts from the stories of cosmonaut Sergei Ryazansky - he does it so relishly and figuratively. Sergei is not just a tough specialist, but also one of the few cosmonauts with the gift of a storyteller. Once I saw students listening to his lecture for three hours, and when asked from the audience, the guys surrounded the astronaut, and for another forty minutes he could not escape from their circle.
But I was waiting for Sergei to fly a second time. On July 29, the new crew opened the hatches and boarded the international station. Sergei is his commander. Now you can!
About the first flight
The crew in which we started was the commander Oleg Kotov, the flight engineer was me and the American cosmonaut-researcher Michael Hopkins (Sergei's first flight began on September 26, 2013 - A. M.). Night start is incredibly beautiful. When you look from the side. And when you sit inside, you can't see anything. The windows, which we call portholes, are covered by a fairing. By the way, everything inside is done so that nothing would make the astronaut nervous or worried. In the headphones you have the voice of an instructor who trained you for two years. During the breaks, the music that you chose for yourself sounds. In general, everything is fine, unless you think about the fact that under your butt point there is a large barrel of gunpowder, which at some point makes a "boom", and then the rocket flies.
About the ceiling
Promotional video:
How to tell the floor from the ceiling at the station? The Russians have color. Dark green floor, light green ceiling. It is interesting that it is very important for a person to understand where is the top, where is the bottom, even in zero gravity. The cosmonauts managed to assign a floor and ceiling even in a completely round module. Because it’s customary: you fly in there, immediately get your bearings and realize that you have socks on the left, a bag with useful things on the right.
And the Americans didn’t come up with the idea that you can paint everything, they made signs. They have signs hanging - floor, ceiling, left, right. They used nautical terminology - the left side of the ship, the right side. Some of the engineers in the American space industry come from marine engineers. So there is even a bell at the station.
9000 stars
We had three exits for the flight. And this is probably the most interesting thing from a professional point of view. You realize that you are looking at the tin can you live in from the outside. You are in a small spaceship, which is connected to the station by some two ropes, which you hook to the handrail by the hook. My commander's favorite pastime was this. When the Earth said: “Guys, we have a break in communication, rest,” he turned off the powerful flashlights on his head and pushed off from the station. You fly and see the crazy starry sky. Until the ropes yank you back to the station.
A normal person from the earth sees 2 - 2.5 thousand stars. An astronaut from the station sees 9 thousand stars. I have always been an excellent student in the "starry sky" subject at Star City. But I could not even find the Bear, because she gets entangled in some extra stars that someone stuck there.
About the toilet
The Americans have never been able to create a space toilet for their segment. They bought it from the Russians. The correct answer from an astronaut candidate when he passes the life support exam is that the space toilet is a vacuum cleaner. In general, the Americans bought our vacuum cleaner.
If something breaks in the toilet, a red light comes on. Somehow we look, three American colleagues are hanging in weightlessness and crumpled. "Guys, what's the matter?" - "We have a red light on." - "So it needs to be fixed" - "We went to Houston, said: we have a problem. Houston is missing. " And the next communication session in 40 minutes. My commander Oleg Kotov says: you guys are going to the Russian segment for now, to our toilet.
People cannot do anything without instructions. He repaired everything himself and you report: Earth, there was a breakdown, we repaired, everything is fine. My commander says: guys, this is my third flight, the devil knows how many breakdowns there were, I take apart the toilet at a speed better than a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Let me fix it quickly. No, they say, you can't, without Houston's permission.
year 2013. An ambulance crew arrived on the ISS. Photo: NASA
About reaction
Eyesight changes in an interesting way under weightless conditions. Someone called me on the ground. What am I doing? I turn around. But first my eyes go, then my head goes, and then my eyes rotate. And I see who called me. What happens in zero gravity? The eyes are the first to react. And then the head turns. The speed of the gaze installation reaction increases almost three times.
How we swear
We have a subject "psychology" of three parts - leadership, conflict management and stress resistance. Leadership is easier. Anyone who lived to be included in the crew is a priori a leader. But when there are three leaders in the carriage, then conflict resolution begins further. There is a formal commander, but maybe the commander is not formal, and you need to listen to him, because he is more experienced, stronger and more authoritative. In general, we are specially taught to swear.
If something happens, your friend will save you. On the ground, if we have a fight with someone, we can leave. You're not going anywhere at the station.
And it happens that something happens. And this infuriates something, but it happens that infuriates, infuriates, infuriates. If in this state I express everything that I think about my colleague (and my vocabulary is very good), then, firstly, I will greatly offend him, and secondly, I will hear about the same in response (for sure I also messed up somewhere). Therefore, if something dramatically enrages, we go to the side. But if, on the other hand, irritation can accumulate - and there will be a big bamts. Therefore, over evening tea, having already calmed down, you turn to your colleague: my friend, today was such an unpleasant situation, I beg you, do not do this anymore. This is called good swearing.
BTW
Having arrived on the ISS, Sergei Ryazansky continues to maintain his Facebook page. Every day there are photographs from space, competitions, stories about life in orbit.
Subscribe to it - you will learn a lot of interesting things!
reference
Sergey RYAZANSKY was born on November 13, 1974. Graduated from the biology department of Moscow State University. The first graduate of Moscow State University, who made a space flight.
In 2003 he was enlisted in the cosmonaut corps. But only in 2011 he received the post of test cosmonaut at the Cosmonaut Training Center. Today he has the qualification "Honored Tester of Space Technology".
The first flight took place from September 26, 2013 to March 11, 2014.
On July 29 this year he flew into space for the second time. Already as a ship commander. For someone with no formal technical background, this is a fantastic assignment.
Sergei's grandfather is the famous Mikhail Sergeevich Ryazansky, an associate of Korolev, the chief designer of radio systems for rocket and space technology.
About humor
Sometimes it seems to me that the astronauts are recruited for their sense of humor. Each arriving crew tries to somehow pin it. My commander and I were annoyed during our training, because Oleg Kotov has a basic education - the St. Petersburg Military Medical Academy, and I have a PhD in space medicine. We were told that we were an ambulance crew, two doctors. At Baikonur we took away the masks and hats from the specialists, and in this form, when the hatches were opened, we burst into the station with a cry: "Well, patients, the enema has arrived."
ALEXANDER MILKUS