Spacewalking for 8 Hours - Episode 49 | Behind the Wings podcast

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Episode description

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Episode description

Retired NASA Astronaut Lieutenant General Susan Helms reflects on her 211 days in space and life onboard a young International Space Station.

In this episode, Susan takes us through her groundbreaking journey as the first active-duty woman officer to become a NASA astronaut. She discusses attending the United States Air Force Academy, flight testing fighter jets, her five space missions, and a record-breaking spacewalk. This one is going to be cool!

Key Takeaways:

Susan's childhood dream was to attend the United States Air Force Academy. At the time, women were not permitted to learn at the USAFA, but in 1975 during her senior year of high school, President Ford signed a law allowing women to enroll. She applied and was accepted to the Academy, joining 157 other women in the first class of 1976.

After graduating from the USAFA in 1980, Susan was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base as an F-16 Weapons Separation Engineer and then became the Lead Engineer for F-15 weapons separation. She then transferred to Edwards Air Force Base to be a Flight Test Engineer.

While flight testing CF-18s in Canada, Susan was selected to become a NASA astronaut. She flew on STS-54, 64, 78, 101, and Expedition 2.

Susan and crewmate Jim Voss trained and studied languages in Moscow with fellow Cosmonaut Yuri Usachov before their Expedition 2 flight.

On a few of her missions, Susan operated the Remote Manipulator System on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. This robot arm is used to deploy satellites, capture objects, and assist astronauts during spacewalks.

In 2001, Susan Helms and Jim Voss set a world record after spacewalking for 8 hours and 56 minutes. This record was held for 23 years before Chinese astronauts Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong broke it in 2024 by 10 minutes.

Susan encourages listeners to do what they love and not to follow careers that others are pushing them towards.

Resources:

Chapters:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:00) - The First Space Tourist & Astronaut Roles

(02:55) - Early Interest in Aviation

(03:34) - USAFA Application

(04:52) - The USAFA's First Class of Women

(05:54) - Attending the USAFA

(08:01) - F-15 & F-16 Weapons Testing

(09:52) - The Flight Test Engineer Role

(11:14) - Flight Testing in Canada

(13:00) - Astronaut Selection & First Mission

(14:45) - Flying at Mach 25

(15:32) - The Remote Manipulator System (RMS)

(18:19) - Astronaut Training in Moscow

(21:04) - A Record-Breaking Spacewalk

(24:54) - Eating & Drinking During Spacewalks

(26:17) - Living in Space

(28:35) - Post Astronaut Career

(30:22) - Space Exploration's Future

(32:02) - Life Advice

(32:45) - Outro