(upbeat music)
- [Branden] Today we're at the Johnson Space Center
in Houston, Texas.
AKA NASA!
Today we're training like astronauts.
- [Selorm] We're gonna be using
the same training simulations
that astronauts use before traveling into space.
Let's suit up. Let's do it.
(confident rock beat)
(ethereal electronic music)
Branden, Selorm, I'm Kjell Lingren.
It's really nice to meet you all.
It's nice to meet you too.
And it's great to have you here at Johnson Space Center.
I'm a NASA astronaut.
I joined the astronaut office in 2009,
so I've been here for almost 10 years.
This is an amazing place to live and work.
So I went to space in 2015.
I launched on a Soyuz rocket out of Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan on July of 2015,
and then returned back to the earth December of 2015,
after having spent 141 days in space.
The training is amazing,
and I think that many folks will tell you
it is the second-best job in the world
to actually getting to fly.
We spend two years learning the basics
of being prepared to fly.
And so that includes robotic arm operation,
space station systems, how to do a space walk,
flying in the T-38 jet as a space-flight readiness trainer,
and then finally learning the Russian language.
Once you've been assigned to a mission,
begins another one and a half to two years of training
for that specific mission.
So for that first space flight,
it's about four years of training.
Wow. It's a lotta training.
(soaring electronic music)
My name is Paul Valle; I'm the ARGOS project manager
here at the NASA Johnson Space Center.
And I'm Brian Mader; I work in EVA operations,
so we do crew training and flight control for space walks.
So what are we doing here today?
Well this is the Active Response Gravity Offload System,
and what we do here is simulate reduced gravity,
so we're going to put you into zero gravity,
or micro-gravity as we call it,
and that will make you feel
like you're floating around in space.
How exactly does this train astronauts going to space?
So being in space, in micro-gravity,
is a lot different than just walking around on two feet.
Things just like starting your body moving
and then stopping your body from moving
are a lot bigger deal than on the ground.
So if you push off, you're gonna just keep going
and float out into space. (nervous laughter)
Oh. Great. (nervous laughter)
One of you will do it. (nervous laughter)
Yeah, any motion you put in, you have to take out.
It takes a lot of practice to fine-tune those skills
before they fly.
Alright, ready to go to space?
Ready to go it. (upbeat music)
Let's do this.
- [Paul] Eh, that's good there.
- [Selorm] Is it just gonna lift me up or something?
- [Paul] Yeah. So the first step is we're gonna lift you up,
and then we'll calibrate the system to you,
and then from there you'll be good to go.
- [Selorm] Oh, here I go! (voice squeaking)
- [Branden] Whoa.
- [Brian] You don't wanna float off,
so we always keep things tethered, yourself included.
I'm afraid I'm gonna touch one thing and then fall down.
Two and a half.
Two and three quart-- Oh shh! (nervous laughter)
- [Paul] Like you're in a movie right now?
I feel like I am in a movie right now.
- [Paul] And get you over to the handrails.
That way you can stop spinning.
- [Selorm] Oh, cool.
Hoo! Oh!
- [Paul] There you go. - [Selorm] Oh my god!
(Selorm squealing) (Paul laughing)
- [Paul] Well, you're off to a good start.
- [Selorm] Okay. Should I be going somewhere?
- [Brian] So that's why we keep everything tethered.
(upbeat music)
- [Selorm] Not so easy, is it, Branden?
- [Branden] No, it's really not!
(upbeat electric guitar)
- [Brian] You're making your way across the space station.
- [Selorm] ♪ Making my way downtown. ♪
Don't die. - [Branden] Alright, alright.
- [Selorm] Oh! Okay. (equipment clatters)
- [Branden] Going across this.
- [Selorm] That was a little scary.
- [Paul] So now's where you start having to think
outside the box a little.
(Branden mumbling)
- [Branden] Hey! Alright. (laughter)
- [Brian] Alright, there's your box.
- [Selorm] It's like playing Floor is Lava.
- [Paul] Exactly!
- [Selorm] Except with zero gravity.
Go ahead and put your waist tether down.
This way, if you come off structure with that waist tether,
you don't have so far to go.
- [Brian] Alright, that one's loose.
- [Branden] Okay.
- [Selorm] I'm gonna unlatch it.
- [Branden] You really have to pay attention
to every little micro-movement you make.
- [Selorm] Oh it goes over. Okay. Makes sense.
And then, locked.
- [Branden] I'm really surprised how exhausting this is.
I just feel like every muscle is so tense right now.
- [Selorm] Whoo!
- [Paul] Piece of cake, right?
- [Selorm] Piece of cake, am I right?
- [Brian] This is the final test.
- [Selorm] Hey. - [Branden] Hey.
Uh oh. Oh God. (laughter)
- [Paul] And now is where we're just messing with you
and letting you float away.
Every single muscle in my body is just so tight,
just 'cause I'm trying to focus every single movement.
It's insane. It's so insane.
That was crazy. I was definitely using a lot
of different muscles that I'm not used to.
I'm definitely sweating.
I wanna go back up there.
I wanna stay up there forever.
Send me to space.
So I got, actually, to do two space walks
during my mission.
They're an unforgettable experience.
The opportunity to go outside, to wear
that very iconic spacesuit, to see the earth
and the outside of a space station
through a very thin piece of plastic,
it's something I'll never forget.
- [Branden] How long were you out there?
Both of my space walks were over seven hours.
That's a while!
So all told, I've been outside for a little over 15 hours.
(ethereal electronic music)
I'm Jeff Hoblit; I work at the Johnson Space Center,
the Virtual Reality Lab.
This is where we train astronauts
on how to do their space walks.
One of the things that we train for here
is the rescue system that the astronauts wear
when they go out on their space walks.
In case they ever become separated from Station,
they have to be able to rescue themselves.
So what we train here is something called SAFER:
Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue.
What that is essentially is a jet backpack
that the crew wears when they go outside.
So if they become separated, they reach down,
they pull out a little hand controller,
and then they can power that on,
fly themselves back to safety.
Now this is the SAFER unit; this is the rescue backpack.
This is what the crew wears.
These towers come up.
There's a little hand controller over here.
They reach out, they pull that up--
Oh wow. - [Branden] Whoa.
And out deploys this. - [Branden] Okay.
They power on, fly themselves back.
In the actual VR simulator,
we're gonna be using one of these?
Yes.
(twinkling electronic music)
- [Selorm] Well, here we are. In space.
- [Branden] Whoa-ho-ho! (laughs)
Okay, cool.
Wow.
- [Jeff] Right, so now you've just come out of the airlock.
Alright, you're not having a very good day.
- [Branden] No.
- [Jeff] You wanna start off at half?
- [Branden] It looks pretty nice.
- [Jeff] Okay, and. - [Branden] Oh. Oh god.
- [Jeff] Where'd you go?
- [Branden] No, no, no! (laughter)
(Selorm mock screaming)
- [Jeff] So a bad day for you?
- [Branden] This is really awful.
(soaring electronic music)
- [Jeff] Just noticed you're falling off.
You're hoping your tether works.
Nope, bad news.
And now, start closing on it.
So start giving pulses in.
- [Selorm] Oh, I'm getting sick.
But I'll be fine.
- [Branden] Yeah, it looks like I'm getting closer.
- [Jeff] Okay.
- [Branden] But it's going down. So I need to go down?
- [Jeff] If the space station is going down, yes.
You have to chase it.
You're doing good.
Actually, I think you're gonna be okay right there.
Pick a handrail.
And I don't know if that handrail's live,
but you woulda had it.
- [Selorm] Oh no! Am I floating away again?
- [Jeff] I think you're floating away.
- [Selorm] Oh no-ho-ho! (mock crying)
- [Jeff] That's it, you're almost on it.
(grunt of effort) (laughter)
You're almost there, and grab it.
- [Branden] Ahh, got it! - [Jeff] There you go!
- [Branden] Whew! Alright. - [Jeff] That's a good rescue.
- [Branden] Sweet. - [Jeff] You were successful.
Yay! I did not grab a handle, but I grabbed something.
- [Jeff] You got back to something.
That's all that's important.
That was crazy.
Especially when you start shooting backwards.
You're just spinning so much. It's very disorienting.
I was not as successful as Branden, but,
I mean, I still lived. I didn't die.
So that's still a plus.
But it was a lot harder than it looked, for sure.
Yeah, in a real-world situation, this would be terrifying.
(thumping electronic beat)
My name's Bill Rieke; I work for NASA here
as a T-38 instructor.
Right behind us, we've got a T-38 simulator
that we're gonna fly today.
A T-38 is a fighter-type jet that has two people in it.
It's got afterburning engines, and it's a great trainer.
The astronauts, they fly it
for space-flight readiness training,
and they use it to get familiar with the procedures
of flying, and procedurally things that are similar
to when they fly in space.
This is it. Yeah!
Let's see what you can do.
Yeah, we've had absolutely no training,
so it will be perfect. (laughter)
Don't even know what a cockpit really looks like, so.
No. Here we go.
I wonder if they tell each other jokes through these.
- [Branden] I'm sure they do.
Hey, Branden, guess what? - [Branden] What?
Chicken butt. (sarcastic laughter)
We're gonna die. - [Branden] We're gonna die.
NASA 903, you're clear for takeoff, Runway 35, left.
Roger that, moving.
At this point, you can go full power afterburner,
and in a minute you're gonna take off from the runway.
(airplane engines droning)
Cool. And you're rolling.
There you go. Looking good. You alright?
Oh! We're flying (high-pitched squealing)
Whoa, slow up! (frightened laughter)
- [Bill] Push down. Push the nose down.
Pushing down.
How about one of you get the gear up.
Oh, the gear? Oh yeah. Gear is up.
(switch clicks) (laughter)
- [Bill] Alright, and the other person get the flaps.
Sorry. Oh, flaps, flaps, flaps.
Woops. Hey. (switch clicks)
We're flying! Hey, alright!
We're flying! (laughter)
Alright, tell you what, let's take a tour of Houston.
Let's go ahead and do a left turn.
So push the stick to the left.
And there you go.
And as you turn to the left, kind of holding that position,
and you'll be turning.
Oh my god, we're doing it.
Selorm, you're doing great! - [Selorm] Okay!
(laughter)
I'm terrified.
We will go ahead and do some aerobatics.
One. Two. Three. Go! (Selorm screaming)
(Brendan exclaiming)
Nice! Nice job.
Wow, we did a double roll.
Is that like real life? Can we do it again?
- [Bill] Yeah, let's do it the other way,
so you can kinda unwind, right?
(Brendan exclaiming) (Selorm laughing)
Oh snap, we're upside down. - [Branden] Oh snap!
Don't fall out, Branden. I need you.
Okay, I'm okay.
Whoa, oh my God! Whoa!
(Exclaiming and laughing)
That was mine, that was great.
(upbeat electronic music)
- [Bill] Oh, you guys were great!
(mellow R&B music)
I didn't really know what to expect going into today,
but it was way harder than I thought it was gonna be.
Talking to the astronauts today, finding out that it takes
at least four years of training to actually get to space,
it's just really cool to meet someone
who's that passionate, to do that.
It's crazy to think that when you're an astronaut,
and when you're training,
you not only have to learn all that stuff over time
and get really good at it,
but you have to actually implement those skills
in space and know what you're doing.
Overall, we survived space training.
Kind of.
Yeah! Yay!
Look out moon, we're coming for you!
(mock fighting sound effects)
(upbeat electronic music)