IT'S LIKELY TO PASS NEXT WEEK
PASS THE REPUBLICAN-CONTROLLED
SENATE.
THE SESSION ENDS MAY 17th.
>>> THIS WEEK MARKS 60 YEARS
SINCE HUMANS WENT TO SPACE, AND
WE ARE CELEBRATING OVER 20
YEARS OF CONTINUOUS HUMAN
PRESENCE ABOARD THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
A FEW DAYS AGO, WCCO WAS GIVEN
A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK
WITH TWO OF THE 240 ASTRONAUTS
REPRESENTING 19 COUNTRIES WHO
HAVE LIVED ON THE ISS.
THIS IS PART OF THE
CONVERSATION WITH ASTRONAUT
SHANE KIMBROUGH AND MARK VAN
DEHI.
>> GENTLEMEN, I HAVE TO TELL
YOU, THIS IS THE THRILL OF A
OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH BOTH
OF YOU, AND SPECIFICALLY YOU,
MARK, BECAUSE YOU GRADUATED
FROM ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY.
I KNOW THEY HAVE TOPNOTCH
SCIENCE CLASSES.
MARK, HOW DID YOUR GENERAL
INTEREST IN SPACE TURN INTO,
I'M GOING TO BE AN ASTRONAUT?
>> WELL, I ALWAYS THOUGHT SPACE
WAS THIS AMAZING AREA TO
EXPLORE AND IT WOULD BE
I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD BECOME
AN ASTRONAUT.
I THOUGHT YOU HAD TO BE A
SUPERHERO, AND I FEEL LIKE I
WAS EXTREMELY FORTUNATE.
POSITION SO WHEN SOMEBODY ASKED
ME IF I WANTED TO WORK AT NASA,
I COULD SAY YES.
THAT THE LED TO THIS JOB.
I'M SOMETIMES VERY PUZZLED BY
>> WELL, I FEEL THE SAME WAY.
A LOT OF ACCOMPLISHED PEOPLE
THINGS IN HIGH SCHOOL.
I STRUGGLED WITH CHEMISTRY YET
HERE I AM, A METEOROLOGIST.
DID YOU HAVE A SIMILAR
EXPERIENCE LIKE THAT, AND COULD
YOU GIVE ADVICE TO OTHER
STUDENTS WHO MAYBE FEEL THE
SAME WAY?
>> THANKS, MIKE.
I THINK WE ALL HAVE STRUGGLES
AND THAT'S PART OF THE REASON
WE'RE HERE, IS THAT WE WEREN'T
AFRAID TO FAIL.
WE TRIED THINGS THAT SOMETIMES
WE WEREN'T VERY GOOD AT BUT
LEARNED GOOD HABITS BY WORKING
HARD AT THINGS WE'RE NOT GREAT
AT.
WE LIKE THINGS WE'RE GOOD AT,
BUT SOME OF THE THINGS WE WERE
NOT SO GOOD AT, WE HAVE GONE
LEARNING AND BACKGROUND.
I WOULD TELL FOLKS DO THINGS
YOU'RE MAYBE NOT SO GREAT AT,
AMAZED AT THE DOORS THAT OPEN
FOR YOU.
>> I KNOW YOU HAVE BOTH WALKED
IN SPACE.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT FEELING,
THE FIRST TIME YOU STEP
OUTSIDE?
>> I'LL EXPLAIN THE THIRD TIME
I WENT.
THE FIRST TWO TIMES, I WENT
FEET FIRST AND I WAS TRAINED TO
FLOOR OF THE POOL WAS ONLY 5
FEET BELOW THE HATCHWAY.
AS SOON AS I CAME OUT,
EVERYTHING LOOKED LIKE MOCK-UP
OF THE STATION WITH THE POOL,
SO MY COMFORT BLANKET WAS
THERE.
THE THIRD TIME, I HAD TO GO OUT
HEAD FIRST AND THERE WAS A TIME
I COULD SEE NOTHING OF THE
SPACE STATION AND ONLY THE
EARTH 240,000 MILES BELOW ME.
I HAD TO WORK ON MY BREATHING
TO STAY CALM.
I'D SPENT TEN HOURS OUTSIDE THE
SPACE STATION BUT IT WAS
DIFFICULT.
HEART STARTED BEATING REALLY
FAST.
YOU HAVE TO PUSH THROUGH HARD
THINGS SOMETIMES.
NASA, BUT WHAT'S THE MOST
BORING OR ANNOYING PART OF
LIVING ON THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION?
>> YOU SEE US SMILING ALL THE
TIME, RIGHT?
THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE THAT WE
GET TO DO THIS.
YEAH, I DON'T THINK THERE'S
ANYTHING BORING UP HERE.
OUR DAYS ARE ALWAYS DIFFERENT.
WE ARE WORKING HARD ON
EXPERIMENTS OR MAINTENANCE OR
WORKING OUT OURSELVES
PHYSICALLY.
WE ALL LIKE I THINK THE VARIETY
OF THINGS WE GET TO DO EVERY
DAY.
AND SHANE WILL CONTINUE MONDAY
MORNING, WHEN FIRST AND FIFTH
GRADE STUDENTS FROM MINNEAPOLIS
OF THE ASTRONAUTS.
IT'S PRETTY CUTE.
SEE THAT 4:30 TO 7:00 ON WCCO
MONDAY MORNING.
THEY'RE PRETTY CUTE.
>> THAT WAS REALLY COOL.
EXCITEMENT DOWN, BUT THAT WAS