Abandoned in Space
A Changing Environment
Things had definitely changed. Melinda was not the only one to notice, you could see it in their eyes, in their actions. Life at the International Space Station, once cordial, seemed to be turning frosty. No one would know better than Melinda after all she had been here almost 500 days. The longest record for any space traveler, Astronaut or Cosmonaut. The fact that she was a woman made it all the more a complex relationship. In the International Space Station, the word was “professionalism”. Regardless of your personality, your education, your skill set or your nationality, each member relied on each other to survive. Over the years there had been Astronauts from the U.S, Great Britain, Pakistan, India, Japan, and Mexico. Cosmonauts from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia. The rule had always been “no politics”. Except for the occasional ribbing, over the superiority of a national sports team or bragging rights after a championship victory.
Whenever possible Melinda would relax in the Cupola module. There she could peer out the 360-degree bay windows at the world below and marvel at the beauty. It didn’t matter if it was Africa, Australia or North America their borders were only on maps and in our minds. The idea of owning a piece of the world reserved only for one nation or ethnic group simply made no sense up here. We were all occupants of the same world. In space, it is easy to see we are all in this together and we had work to do. Up here it was your job was to learn, experiment and assist the other members of the crew.
Sometimes she would sit and gaze out into the eternity that was outer space. She would wonder what else or who else was out there that might be gazing back at us.
The current crew of 6, consisted of three Russians, two Americans, and one Frenchman. The Russian crew consisted of Yuri Gargoi an air force pilot and highest ranking member of the crew. Yuri was a soldier, he displayed all the toughness of a warrior and leader. He expected a lot from the crew, but never more than what he expected from himself. With him was Vladimir Lacheko, a medical specialist, whose job was to track the health of all the crew and document the effects of space on the human body. Vlad took his role as serious as the Hippocratic Oath. Stanislaw Yanka a Russian citizen that was born and raised in Poland and migrated back to his ancestral homeland at the end of the 1st cold war. Stan made no bones about his allegiance to the Kremlin and often displayed a little mistrust for his western counterparts.
Representing France was Angele Cataline’. Angele is a mathematician and engineer whose job was to maintain the complex life support systems on the ISS. Melinda often referred to her as “the other woman”. After all, Melinda outranked her, it was a running joke between each other. Angele was attractive, quick-witted and funny. She would often help ease the tension when the stress of being cooped up in a tin can for weeks at a time starts to chaff your feelings.
Along with Melinda, the U.S. is represented by an electrical engineer named Martin Barret. Martin is a payload specialist. His job is to operate the complex equipment used for launching satellite payloads, performing loading and unloading of supplies and materials from unmanned delivery capsules. Sometimes Martin would help perform repairs both inside and outside the station
In the next few weeks, Vladimir Lacheko and Martin Barret will shuttle out, temporarily reducing the crew to 4. They would eventually be replaced by two new members. The first Brazilian astronaut Alidoro Costa, who will assume the responsibilities performed by Vladimir Lacheko. A Canadian born American, Shel Futaura, would become the payload specialist.
Since 2012 crew members have been shuttled back and forth on Soyuz rockets that were designed to carry two humans. The two at a time process would remain until the larger commercial rockets become available.
It was a busy time on the ISS, every few weeks another unmanned rocket would either deliver new equipment and supplies or return used up equipment and human waste back to earth for recycling or disposal.
The amount of coordination required to keep the ISS going was significant. There was a lot of politics back home on earth that caused competition for sharing the limited resources and smaller budgets. Space travel is taking a back seat to other nationalist causes. Like solving economic problems or countering international terrorism.
Nationalist movements across the globe were beginning to put pressure on the ground crews. The transition from government-sponsored programs like NASA and Roskosmos to private sector programs like ARCA and SpaceX are stripping away talent and changing the role of space crews. Future experiments will need to have commercial applications and won’t be owned by governments. In fact, it is more likely that in future businessmen and engineers will replace military personnel in space travel.
As the political and economic changes manifest themselves on earth there becomes a growing uncertainty in space.
Like Barret, Melinda was winding down the experiments and projects that had funded her travel and hoped to return to earth to share the knowledge and experience from her record-breaking tour. But first, she must take part in a few more crew changes and resupply projects. She must also perform an in-depth review and analysis of the electric support systems on the ISS. Her analysis will help the engineers on the ground determine the health and long-term prospects for maintenance. It was a critically important report that would determine future funding for ISS travel. Melinda was proud that her tour of duty would be remembered as one that would have a lasting impact on the world.
The change had not come easy for Yuri Gargoi either. The Russian, like his predecessors, had always felt the space station was a Soviet invention. As a young boy, he swelled with pride when he learned about the Souyez program and the creation of the first working long life space lab. Then came the bad days in the Soviet Union. With the demise of the USSR and the failing economy in the east, Soyuz fell into disrepair. When NASA joined in to help it invigorated the program. While it was welcome, it also meant that the Russian influence, even control, was being overshadowed by American influence. It was something that did not sit well with many Russians, especially military personnel.
Yuri really liked the fact that his tour of duty allowed him to be the senior officer, the captain of the ship. To him, it meant that Russia had once again ascended to the top spot in space travel. But with space travel being transitioned to corporations instead of governments Russia’s dominance would again be challenged. He did not feel comfortable with the idea that civilians, not military would be calling the shots.
Now with the changing political environment back on earth and a new cold war brewing, there were many mixed emotions. Yuri wanted so much for his tour to be a success, a notable event. He wanted to return to Russia as a national hero. But he also needed to maintain his professionalism and do his best to keep politics and emotion from clouding his judgment.
Yes in many ways, the crew was divided. There was no question that the Russian scientists looked to him for leadership. To the Russians, the American astronauts often seemed arrogant and the western Europeans seemed to be a bit mistrusting.
But keeping them all alive was still his responsibility. He had no intention of failing.
Whenever possible Melinda would relax in the Cupola module. There she could peer out the 360-degree bay windows at the world below and marvel at the beauty. It didn’t matter if it was Africa, Australia or North America their borders were only on maps and in our minds. The idea of owning a piece of the world reserved only for one nation or ethnic group simply made no sense up here. We were all occupants of the same world. In space, it is easy to see we are all in this together and we had work to do. Up here it was your job was to learn, experiment and assist the other members of the crew.
Sometimes she would sit and gaze out into the eternity that was outer space. She would wonder what else or who else was out there that might be gazing back at us.
The current crew of 6, consisted of three Russians, two Americans, and one Frenchman. The Russian crew consisted of Yuri Gargoi an air force pilot and highest ranking member of the crew. Yuri was a soldier, he displayed all the toughness of a warrior and leader. He expected a lot from the crew, but never more than what he expected from himself. With him was Vladimir Lacheko, a medical specialist, whose job was to track the health of all the crew and document the effects of space on the human body. Vlad took his role as serious as the Hippocratic Oath. Stanislaw Yanka a Russian citizen that was born and raised in Poland and migrated back to his ancestral homeland at the end of the 1st cold war. Stan made no bones about his allegiance to the Kremlin and often displayed a little mistrust for his western counterparts.
Representing France was Angele Cataline’. Angele is a mathematician and engineer whose job was to maintain the complex life support systems on the ISS. Melinda often referred to her as “the other woman”. After all, Melinda outranked her, it was a running joke between each other. Angele was attractive, quick-witted and funny. She would often help ease the tension when the stress of being cooped up in a tin can for weeks at a time starts to chaff your feelings.
Along with Melinda, the U.S. is represented by an electrical engineer named Martin Barret. Martin is a payload specialist. His job is to operate the complex equipment used for launching satellite payloads, performing loading and unloading of supplies and materials from unmanned delivery capsules. Sometimes Martin would help perform repairs both inside and outside the station
In the next few weeks, Vladimir Lacheko and Martin Barret will shuttle out, temporarily reducing the crew to 4. They would eventually be replaced by two new members. The first Brazilian astronaut Alidoro Costa, who will assume the responsibilities performed by Vladimir Lacheko. A Canadian born American, Shel Futaura, would become the payload specialist.
Since 2012 crew members have been shuttled back and forth on Soyuz rockets that were designed to carry two humans. The two at a time process would remain until the larger commercial rockets become available.
It was a busy time on the ISS, every few weeks another unmanned rocket would either deliver new equipment and supplies or return used up equipment and human waste back to earth for recycling or disposal.
The amount of coordination required to keep the ISS going was significant. There was a lot of politics back home on earth that caused competition for sharing the limited resources and smaller budgets. Space travel is taking a back seat to other nationalist causes. Like solving economic problems or countering international terrorism.
Nationalist movements across the globe were beginning to put pressure on the ground crews. The transition from government-sponsored programs like NASA and Roskosmos to private sector programs like ARCA and SpaceX are stripping away talent and changing the role of space crews. Future experiments will need to have commercial applications and won’t be owned by governments. In fact, it is more likely that in future businessmen and engineers will replace military personnel in space travel.
As the political and economic changes manifest themselves on earth there becomes a growing uncertainty in space.
Like Barret, Melinda was winding down the experiments and projects that had funded her travel and hoped to return to earth to share the knowledge and experience from her record-breaking tour. But first, she must take part in a few more crew changes and resupply projects. She must also perform an in-depth review and analysis of the electric support systems on the ISS. Her analysis will help the engineers on the ground determine the health and long-term prospects for maintenance. It was a critically important report that would determine future funding for ISS travel. Melinda was proud that her tour of duty would be remembered as one that would have a lasting impact on the world.
The change had not come easy for Yuri Gargoi either. The Russian, like his predecessors, had always felt the space station was a Soviet invention. As a young boy, he swelled with pride when he learned about the Souyez program and the creation of the first working long life space lab. Then came the bad days in the Soviet Union. With the demise of the USSR and the failing economy in the east, Soyuz fell into disrepair. When NASA joined in to help it invigorated the program. While it was welcome, it also meant that the Russian influence, even control, was being overshadowed by American influence. It was something that did not sit well with many Russians, especially military personnel.
Yuri really liked the fact that his tour of duty allowed him to be the senior officer, the captain of the ship. To him, it meant that Russia had once again ascended to the top spot in space travel. But with space travel being transitioned to corporations instead of governments Russia’s dominance would again be challenged. He did not feel comfortable with the idea that civilians, not military would be calling the shots.
Now with the changing political environment back on earth and a new cold war brewing, there were many mixed emotions. Yuri wanted so much for his tour to be a success, a notable event. He wanted to return to Russia as a national hero. But he also needed to maintain his professionalism and do his best to keep politics and emotion from clouding his judgment.
Yes in many ways, the crew was divided. There was no question that the Russian scientists looked to him for leadership. To the Russians, the American astronauts often seemed arrogant and the western Europeans seemed to be a bit mistrusting.
But keeping them all alive was still his responsibility. He had no intention of failing.