What would happen to an astronaut
if they floated away in space? originally appeared on Quora: the
place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and
better understand the world.
Answer by Clayton C. Anderson, NASA astronaut, on Quora:
What would happen to an astronaut if
they floated away in space? Having
read a few of the “other” answers to this question,
it’s time for me to officially “weigh in” as I have a bit of experience in this
area.
For an astronaut to “float away
in space,” one must assume that our American hero astronaut:
1) Is outside of his/her space
vehicle, performing a spacewalk (EVA in NASA acronym-ese meaning
Extra-Vehicular Activity), and
2) Has gooched up said spacewalk by
failing to tether themself appropriately to their space vehicle (we typically
have both safety and local area tethers), and
3) Enough force has been imparted to
their spacesuit-clad body to send them tumbling away on any one of a
million-plus possible trajectories.
Let us further assume that our space
vehicle is the International Space Station (ISS) since currently no other US
astronaut-occupied space vehicles exist (that’s a Q/A for another time!)
Given these things have all
happened, our brave spaceflier must resort to their hours of spacewalk
training, including those lessons that taught us how to use a jet pack called
SAFER (Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue).
Performing one of my six career
spacewalks, my SAFER backpack is clearly visible near my rear end, attached
below/on the side of my PLSS (Primary Life Support System). On this walk, I am
using SAFER number 6, as shown on the jetpack’s extended “boom.” Various dark
circles on the backpack are thruster openings.
To save themselves in the event of a
mea culpa such as this, astronauts — in the quiet confines of a small
laboratory in Building 9 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) — refine their
skills at virtual reality (VR). They play a game, you ask? Not
hardly. While it may seem like a game, it is training of a significant nature,
and a skill set we must master if we ever hope to perform a spacewalk in the
first place. Check out the following link to learn more: NASA shows the world its 20-year virtual reality
experiment to train astronauts: The inside story.
Our SAFER is a jetpack is
straight out of a Buck Rogers comic book. A bit more modern, and slightly less
capable, its purpose is nearly the same. Allow the astronaut to “fly” back to
structure (on the ISS) where they can reattach and — more likely than
continuing the spacewalk — head back inside and clean up their now-full diaper!
SAFER gives astronauts basically
one-shot to “come home”. Limited in fuel, and governed by the laws of orbital
mechanics, it is not simply a leisurely task to fly back to safety. That’s why
we practice using VR. Multiple scenarios, each harder than the last, toss us
from the ISS with varying degrees of (separation) velocity and directional
tumbling. In its simplest form, our training teaches us to:
1.
Realize one’s predicament (not hard
to do, but might involve internal verbalization of cuss words!)
2.
Deploy the SAFER hand controller,
power it on and stop the tumbling by initiating attitude hold (a button push).
Note that you will still be moving away from the ISS.
3.
Reorient yourself to “find” the ISS
using only directional yaw (imagine slowly rotating to your right or left). Try
to stop so you are facing — as much as possible — the point from which you
departed.
4.
Now that you are looking back at
ISS, establish attitude hold again with the ISS in your line of sight.
5.
Using translational thrusts only
(via your hand controller) — up/down, right/left, to ISS/from ISS (obviously to
the ISS is your best choice!) — and your knowledge of orbital mechanics, slowly
fly back until you are close enough to grab on to something!
Possible astronaut view of ISS after
having “fallen off” of the space station during a spacewalk.
Now that you are reattached, I’m
guessing your heartrate is extremely high, along with your breathing rate. For
me, it would be a good time to pause, take a deep breath, and recollect my
thoughts. Then, having done all that, it would be time to apologize to the
Mission Control Center team profusely, thank the VR Lab and EVA for the awesome
training, and begin to dejectedly head inside… all the while thinking about
your upcoming retirement and moving to some secluded spot in Montana.
After all, that was probably your
last spacewalk.
Keep looking up!
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