Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will make history when they break the bond from Earth in a SpaceX
Crew Dragon capsule that's never been flown by humans before.
But find out how the strong bond of friendship they share gives them the edge in space.
Next on the Rocket Ranch.
EGS Program Chief Engineer, verify no constraints to launch…
3, 2, 1, and lift off.
Welcome to space.
Along with launch crews from NASA and SpaceX, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have
been very busy preparing for space flight.
They will be the first humans to fly to the International Space Station from right here
at the Kennedy Space Center since the Space Shuttle retired in 2011.
We caught up to them on a very windy day out at historic pad 39A to talk about the historic
mission, their friendship, and how their families are coping with the risk of their space flight.
Guys, we're standing in the shadow of a Falcon-9 rocket and a capsule that will be just like
this when you guys fly.
What are you feeling right now as you stand here and gaze upon this rocket and spacecraft?
It's really exciting for us to get down here and actually see each of these tests as we
go forward, and to see the progress.
When we came down for Demo-1, we walked out in the pad, but we did it in our flight
suits like we're dressed right now.
Today when we went out to the pad, we actually wore the SpaceX suit and went through that
entire exercise, all suited up, just like we will for Demo-2.
And so pretty high fidelity simulation, but when we do it next time, there won't be two
mannequins in our seats when we get there.
The space will be empty and we'll get a chance to do it.
So it definitely makes it a little bit more routine, which is how you really want launch
day to be; you want to know what you're getting yourself into, and then to go execute it.
And so this just was one more of those steps along the way to get to that point.
It's certainly exciting.
I mean, we were here for DM1; that was exciting, kind of going through the whole process there,
watching it launch and go to station.
We got out to Hawthorne for the recovery of that vehicle.
Being here, doing another dress rehearsal for our launch day, in conjunction with IFA,
has been great.
A unique aspect of this test flight is the two of you guys were best friends; known each
other for a long time.
You both graduated in the same astronaut class in 2000, and you both married astronauts and
were in each other's wedding.
What's that like, having a best friend that's flying with you on this test flight?
Yeah, a good question.
I think for me, I remember John Young saying this a lot more than once, "It's not what
you do in space; it's who you do it with."
And this is really neat, to be able to fly with your best friend into space.
You never think it's going to happen; obviously we've had it happen over the years, I think
folks that were close friends have flown together before, but it's a neat experience.
And then to add on top of it, the fact that it's the first flight of a vehicle, is pretty neat.
We consider ourselves pretty lucky.
I think, in addition to the perks of being with a close friend, of course, and being
with your best friend, there's the other piece that we know what each other thinks about
just about everything. And so we can...
Too much.
...think ahead in terms of what the other person is going to need, or what
the other person is going to want, anticipate the next input, all those sorts of things,
which really, in a test flight like this, goes a long way.
You can really anticipate the other person's reactions versus to have a, "Well, I don't
know, Doug.
How do you feel about the next series of events?"
I already know the answers to those questions, and it makes a big difference when you're
doing something as critical as space flight.
So one of you is for redundancy, then?
Yeah, mostly.
When both of you flew Space Shuttle, it had already had a hundred flights under the belt
of the program.
It was a well-oiled machine.
This is the first time that this will be flown by humans.
So what's the difference, in terms of mindset?
You know, one of the things that...
Folks often will look at the shuttle and talk about the history, and how much practice we
had before we launched those vehicles when our opportunities came.
It's really good, with this vehicle, that the Falcon-9 has such a long heritage, and
has so many flights under its belt.
Even with the block five configuration that will be the crew configuration, multiple flights
flying in that configuration before we get on board.
And so that team is using the same people, and it's a very well-oiled machine on that end.
And then on the cargo side, several cargo missions, of course, way into the double digits
for heading to space station at this point, it really gives you confidence that those
teams are actually pretty well-oiled and pretty experienced as they come together to try to
do this with humans on board.
So the step is not quite as big as it might necessarily appear, because the team has worked
so hard to make that operation for Falcon-9, for everybody, be so similar, and then the
cargo mission history leading into the crew missions.
Yeah, it's almost like the vehicle is now talking back sometimes.
And I think that's one of the biggest things for SpaceX, as a company, needing to get used
to, is just kind of what we would say and what we're seeing in the vehicle and experiencing,
and what they need to say back to us.
Because obviously, with Cargo Dragons, they've never had crew on board.
But it's been an interesting process, kind of developing not only the training, but the
simulations, and then obviously the final exam will be DM2.
Both of you guys helped develop this spacecraft; is there anything that has your signature
on it, like Bob designed that little knob, or Doug helped make that screen that way?
We've tried very hard to not make it a vehicle that just Bob likes, or just Doug likes.
This is a vehicle for everybody after us that's going to fly it.
And so you have to provide those inputs in that vein, I think is the best way to put it.
And you're trying to make a vehicle that is easy to operate in space, easy to interpret
what it's telling you, easy to get in and get out of it, all those things that you need
to do that need to be well-oiled for a space vehicle.
We're trying to add our inputs that helps everybody who flies this vehicle.
Both of you married astronauts.
I'm wondering if, when you get ready to help your family understand the risk that you're
taking here with this test flight, if it's any easier knowing that both of your spouses
were astronauts, and they understand very well the risk that goes with this?
One of the things I think that we're really lucky to have is spouses that really understand
the situations that we're going to be in.
They understand what our role has been as we've worked with the folks out in Hawthorne,
as we traveled down here to go through an exercise.
They understand what it's like to be at the other end of this camera and answer questions
with you.
And so that goes a long way to kind of shortening how much you have to communicate where the
other person, how their day went, and things along those lines.
I think if the spouses don't have as similar of a career background, it seems like it could
be difficult.
I only have the one experience, and I think it would be difficult for me, as a person,
to really convey the challenges that I have on a given day, or why I'm confident on a
given day, or celebrate the successes the same way if my spouse didn't understand them
as deeply as having an astronaut spouse does.
And so it's kind of like...
And our son only knows it one way, as well.
He's got two parents that fly in space, and so that's probably better than, I have one
that does and one that doesn't.
It works out really well for us.
And I think, just like any other family, you share the ups and downs.
We've been doing this for coming up on five years as commercial crew astronauts, so they
haven't all been great days, but some have been really great days.
And I think that's just part of it.
You just try to keep them in the loop as much as possible, just like you would in any other
career path.
So I think they appreciate that, but, by the same token, they certainly understand it to
a greater detail because of what they do, as well.
Doug and Bob, we wish you great success on your first test flight, and thank you for
taking the time to talk with us.
You bet.
Thank you.
I'm Derrol Nail, and that's our show.
And thanks for stopping by the Rocket Ranch.
A special thanks to our guests, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken.
To learn more about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit nasa.gov, and to learn more
about everything going on at Kennedy, go to nasa.gov/Kennedy.
And check out NASA's other podcasts to find out what's happening there at the Centers
at nasa.gov/podcasts.
A special shout-out to our producer, John Sackman, photographer Glenn Benson, soundman,
Kim Shiflett, and our editor, Michelle Stone.
And remember, on the Rocket Ranch, you've got to keep looking up.