Preflight Interview: Pat Forrester

The STS-105 Crew Interviews with Pat Forrester, mission specialist.

We're talking with Pat Forrester, mission specialist 1 on STS-105. First off, Pat, tell us a little bit about your childhood. What, what were you like as a kid?

Well, I grew up in a military family, so we moved around a lot. And, a couple of the times, we were stationed at West Point, New York. And, so I had an opportunity to be around the Military Academy and around cadets, and my father went to the Military Academy. And, so as I came up through high school, and we got a little more stable around the Washington, D.C., area, I decided that when I got out of high school, I would like to go into the military like my father and go to the Military Academy. So, I went to the Military Academy out of high school and graduated in 1979 and entered the military. Started out in the infantry as an Airborne Ranger and had been out in the mountains for a couple days, hadn't eaten much, hadn't slept much on a Ranger patrol and got picked up by a helicopter. And, I looked up front, and I didn't know much about flying at the time, but I knew it must have only taken one hand because, or at least one pilot, because he was up there eating fried chicken. And, I decided right then and there that's what I wanted to do, I wanted to go off and learn to fly. So, I went to flight school and spent the rest of my military career flying.

Tell me about your military career, and how did that evolve into you becoming an astronaut?

Well, like I said, I did start out at the Military Academy and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and was commissioned into the infantry. Once I became an aviator, I went to and was stationed over in Hawaii as a platoon leader with a combat assault company. And while I was there, I read an article about an Army officer, an Army aviator, that was also an astronaut, and I thought that was about the neatest thing I'd ever heard. I'd always been interested in the space program, but I knew that I wanted to be in the military and be an Army officer. And, for the first time I realized that I could do two things that I love very much; serve my country in the military and also perhaps become an astronaut. So, (I) decided then and there that's what I wanted to do. And probably about eleven years and five applications later I was finally selected in 1996.

Were there any particular people along the way that helped guide you to point you where you are?

Well, probably not one particular person, but when you're in the military, it's just like at NASA: You're part of a team. And as good a leader as you are, it's based on how well the soldiers that are under your command do and also the leaders above you. So we depend on each other a lot, and I obviously got a lot of support along the way. And, not only my family, but from the folks that I'd been stationed with and served under and commanded. I will say that when I did discover Army astronauts and started to look into them a little bit, I did try and model my careers after them because it seemed like they had done the things that I was interested in and that it had the end result of what I was interested in.

Give me an overview of this flight you're going up on, STS-105. What's its goal?

Well, I think the main goal of STS-105 would be to take up the Expedition Three crew and return the Expedition Two crew that would have been on orbit for about 4½ or 5 months. We've got some secondary goals. We're carrying up an MPLM -- a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module -- full of supplies for the folks living on station. And, then finally, we have a couple tasks to do on our space walk that will leave the station in a better condition than it is right now.

Have you had much opportunity to train with the Expedition Three crew?

You know, we have not been given a lot of opportunities. They are quite busy with their training flow and spend a lot of time in Russia, of course. And, we have been busy because we were named just a little bit late; and we're spending most of our time training for our task. We have been able to get together to do some of our egress-type training, where we would be in the orbiter together before docking and after docking. And also, we've had an opportunity to spend some time socially together. And, that's been great. Just for the bonding and to get a chance to realize what they've been working on.

Before this flight can achieve any of its goals, you've got to successfully rendezvous and dock with the space station. Talk me through that process and tell me what you'll be doing during the rendezvous and docking.

Well, as mission specialist 1, I don't have what I would call a particular responsibility. Of course, the commander will be doing the flying. And, the pilot will be looking over the systems with him. Dan Barry, our MS 2, will be on the aft flight deck with Scott handling some of the rendezvous tools that we have. And, my job is to sit back and make sure that each one of them, with the particular focus that they have, that everything comes together, and we get what we call the nominal timeline done. So, I just kind of sit back and make everybody stays on the timeline.

After you do successfully dock, you'll open up those hatches and go in and you'll see the Expedition Two crew. Any idea what that moment's going to be like for you?

Well, you know, as a rookie, I just can't even imagine what it's going to be like to go to space the first time. But, I'll tell you that this is just a real unique opportunity for me. Because one of the Expedition crewmembers is a retired Army colonel -- Jim Voss. And, eight years ago when I came to work at Houston as an engineer before being selected as an astronaut, he was my boss. In fact, he was instrumental in bringing me down here. And, I feel I owe a lot to him, just the fact that I was selected. And, if you had told me eight years ago that I would eventually be on the shuttle, going up to bring him back from his stay on the space station, I'd just couldn't have imagined it. So, it's going to be just extra special for me to get a chance to see Jim again.

Now, your big goal is to exchange the crewmembers from the shuttle to the station and vice versa. What's the process of that happening? Does it take place all in 1 day?

Well, yes. It'll happen at one time. And, the instrumental part of that is to get, what we call the Soyuz seat-liners -- or IELKs -- transferred over. Once those are onboard station, then those crewmembers are officially transferred to station; and we will be responsible for the three that we are returning.

What lessons did we learn from the first crew exchange on STS-102?

Well, they did things a little bit differently. And, it had to do with the way that they were doing their spacewalks. And, I think they did it one crewmember a day. And, that obviously took a little more planning because, in the event of a contingency, they'd have to figure out which crewmembers were staying and which were coming back. And, I think to do it all at once will probably make things easier for us because, at that moment, we'll know who needs to be on each side of the hatch in case we needed to leave station early.

One of the first big tasks of the flight is attaching the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the space station. Tell me all about that and tell me what you are going to be doing.

Well, I've been given the opportunity to be the robotics operator, or R-1, for that. And so, I will grapple the MPLM in the payload bay and will install it up on station. And, following that, the Expedition crew is responsible for taking care of getting it open and prepared for us to start to transfer items out of it.

Talk me through the process of lifting it up and attaching it to the station. Is that similar to what we've seen the last couple of flights?

Yeah, very similar. Obviously every one that flies it has their own techniques as far as the route that they want to take with the module. For example, when STS-102 took the first Logistics Module up there, they didn't have the SSRMS there. Now that 6A, the flight that just landed, put the SSRMS up there -- the station robotic arm --- it is now in a position that it won't interfere. But, we need to keep that in mind. As we reposition the MPLM out of the bay and onto station, we have to avoid that arm. So, there's always something a little bit different about it. But, for the most part, the lessons that they learned, we're applying to our training right now.

What is the Logistics Module carrying to the station this time?

Well, it's full of supplies, clothing. We've got some experiment racks that will go to the Lab, and some experiments on those. And, basically resupply for us right now.

How long is that going to take to unload and then reload with the equipment from the space station? Is that a several-day process?

Yes, absolutely. And, probably unloading it goes a little bit quicker than loading it back up. And, I think, right now, we've got about four days planned to get everything unloaded and put in its place on station. And, then as we begin to figure out what's going to go back, it takes some interaction with the ground to determine the best place to put it because of CG and weight restrictions.

Are you bringing any new science experiments in the MPLM or anywhere else in the shuttle?

There are some experiments in the MPLM. But, we've also got a couple of experiments on shuttle I'd like to talk about. One of them, which I think is just an excellent opportunity, is called the Student Experiment Module. And, it is a passive experiment module that has allowed 11 schools and school systems to put payloads onboard the orbiter. And, they're passive payloads. But, they were designed by students. And, gives them the opportunity to interact with NASA in what we call the educational access to space. We also have got an experiment that is taking technology from the civilian world - inexpensive, aviation-type hardware, a GPS -Global Positioning System - and doing some experiments that we can maybe apply that same equipment to the shuttle.

How involved are the space station crews in the MPLM activities? Are they going to be pretty busy with handovers or will they be able to help out?

Oh, they'll be able to help out. They will be doing handovers, obviously, but we're relying on both crews - both the one that is there now and the one that's going to stay - to have a big input into where that equipment will go. Because they're obviously the ones that need to know where it was stored. So, it's kind of like when you have the movers come to the house. They can get it off the truck, but you sure would like to be there to put it in place. And, that's where they're going to be instrumental.

Shuttle mission STS-104 just installed the Joint Airlock, named Quest, to the International Space Station and during your space walks you guys are not going out of that airlock. Why not?

Well, there's a really good reason for that. Obviously, getting Quest up onboard is just an outstanding achievement. Something that we've been looking forward to, and it opens up a lot of opportunities for the people living on the space station to go out and do space walks both in the Russian suit and the United States suit. However, , right at a critical point in our training for 105, there were some real questions about whether or not that particular mission, and specifically getting Quest installed, was gonna happen or not. You probably recall there were some issues with the robotic arm, the station robotic arm, that they use to pull it out of the cargo bay and also some issues about the vehicle. And, so we had to make a decision that we needed to continue training in a way that we knew that we would be able to duplicate it on flight. And so, we made the decision there that we would go out of the shuttle airlock. Since both of our EVAs and both crewmembers would be using the U.S. suit, that was not a problem for us. And, so, early on, we started designing our EVAs around the shuttle airlock, to be able to cover the contingency that we went before 104, or in this case, after 104. It works out just fine.

Both space walks will be you and Dan Barry together conducting those. What's the big goal of the first space walk?

Well, the first space walk: Our main goal is to get a piece of equipment called the Early Ammonia Servicer, or EAS, installed up onto P6 -- the truss up on space station. The purpose of the Early Ammonia Servicer is just to leave the station in a little bit better configuration than it is right now. Ammonia is used as a coolant throughout the space station, and in the future, if we should develop a leak, the Early Ammonia Servicer provides the opportunity, once that leak is found and repaired, to reservice the system with ammonia. And, this particular Ammonia Servicer will be used until such time as the ammonia is depleted, and it can be returned to Earth, reserviced and brought back up on a later mission.

Talk us through the whole process of that space walk from the time you guys step out of Discovery's airlock. What happens?

Well, first of all, all of our equipment and tools will be inside the airlock so Dan as EV1 will go out first and will configure our tethers onto the shuttle robotic arm. That is gonna be our tether point. That's gonna be kind of our base throughout the mission. After I hand out the rest of the equipment to Dan, I'll come out, we'll close the airlock up and we'll both go to work. The Early Ammonia Servicer will be on what's called an ICC in the cargo bay of the orbiter. It's bolted down quite firmly so Dan will go underneath with a large ratchet wrench, and we'll untorque the bolts. There are six bolts holding it down. Once he's done, he'll move out, and I'll get underneath with basically a power tool, just like a power screwdriver or a wrench like you might use at home, and I'll release all six of those EVA bolts. Once I've released those, Scott Horowitz, who will be working the arm, will pick the ICC up off the pallet, and Dan and I will grab hold of it and off we'll go using the arm as our ride. And we'll move up into the area of the P6 structure where it's gonna be installed. Dan will then get in a APFR, a foot restraint, and be prepared to receive the Early Ammonia Servicer. Now, it weighs about 1500 pounds down here on Earth, so it's got some substantial mass, and so he needs to be in a good position to maneuver it. I will then get in position to soft dock it onto the structure, so I'll basically have one hand on the station and one hand on the EAS and once we're stable, Scott will release it from the robotic arm, and Dan and I will guide it onto a trunion pin. Following that, we will secure it with a bolt that is installed on the EAS, and then we'll go to work to supply power to it. And, the way that's done is there's a set of cables on the Ammonia Servicer. And we will release those cables -- they're electrical cables -- and Dan will run those down the structure and plug them into a power source on Z1. We will then both secure those cables, and that will pretty much finish up that task. And, that's probably biggest task that we have on that particular mission.

Anything else on the rest of that space walk that takes place?

Yes, there's an experiment onboard called MISSE, which stands for Materials for ISS Experiment. And it is two boxes about two feet by two feet and they're also on the ICC -- the pallet that's in the cargo bay. So, Dan and I will go back to the cargo bay and each one of us will grab one of these MISSEs. We will then move out to the new airlock, Quest, and both of us, at a place on the airlock, will install these MISSEs. There's a clamp that goes on first. We'll install that, and then we'll install and open up these particular experiments. And they're just full of different materials, metals, paints, any type of material that we think we might wanna use on a future space flight. And they'll stay out there for a period of time, and then, they'll be retrieved and brought back to Earth and analyzed to see how different materials are reacting to the rigors of space. Very similar to an experiment we had years ago called LDEF, or the Long Duration Exposure Facility. Once we are done installing MISSEs, we'll clean up all the work sites, and we'll head back into the airlock. That'll be a full EVA.

A couple of day later you guys go back outside for yet another space walk. What's the big purpose of EVA 2?

Well, EVA 2 is what we might call a get-ahead EVA. And we are taking out a set of cables that will be used to supply power to a truss structure that's being brought up on 8A.

Step us through what happens on that space walk. Once again, what's the detail of exactly what you guys are doing out there.

Okay. Once we're both outside of the airlock, we will again attach ourselves to the robotic arm and use that as kind of our platform for the EVA. Now, these cables are being laid along Destiny, the Lab that was brought up on 5A. However, due to the size of the Lab when it was put in the cargo bay, the clearance was so close that they were not able to put a set of handrails down each side of the Lab and still have clearance to get it out of the cargo bay. So the first thing we'll do is we'll each take a bag of handrails. I'll have five and Dan will have six, and we'll lay those down each side of the Lab; Dan working on the starboard side and I'll be working on the port side. Once we have installed all those handrails, we will go back and, working as a team at this point, we'll get one side of the cables, and the first one we'll do is on the starboard side. Dan will go out front with the cable, much like unrolling a fire hose. And he'll unroll the cable in front of me, and I'll attach it to the handrails as we move along. Once we reach the end of the Lab, Dan will hook up one end of these cables to power receptacles on the Lab. The other end will stay stowed. We'll then repeat that on the port side with me leading, carrying the hose and Dan attaching it. And, once again we'll attach to power receptacles on the Lab. Now these cables, we call them LTA cables or Launch to Activation cables, will stay in place until 8A come up. And 8A is bringing the S0 Truss up, and once it's pulled out of the bay, there's a limited amount of time that can go without power due to the fact that it's got several ORUs or modules on it that require power and heat. And, if for some reason there's a problem getting S0 installed, these cable will be ready to plug in and provide power and, therefore, heat to the S0.

Any other tasks that take place during EVA 2?

Well, if we are successful on accomplishing that and we have some time left, we have two things we wanna do. We have some photo documentation of the space station. There are still many areas on it that engineers are looking at on the ground, and crews that are trying to train for future missions that they would like the ability to have a close up look. And so, we're gonna do photo documentation with both a 35 millimeter and a 70 millimeter camera. Once we've done our photo documentation of the work that we've done and some other areas on station, there are some other get-ahead tasks that 8A has asked us to do, and that's mainly moving pieces of equipment around: for example, a tool stanchion and a Portable Foot Restraint that's in another location. We're gonna move it a little bit closer so that when 8A gets up there and they're ready to get right to work, some of their tools are in place. Given enough time, we might even go up to the toolbox and pick up some tools and pre-position those in the station for them so they'll be ready when they go out the door on 8A.

After that spacewalk is complete, the MPLM is going to be returned to Discovery's payload bay. What's the process of making that happen? Is it just the reverse of attaching it to the station?

It really is. Once again, everyone's got their individual techniques. But, we will just pull it off and take the same path back, and install it in the payload bay.

Do you think it's going to be hard for you to leave the Expedition Three guys behind?

Well, you know what? Knowing how much that they want to be doing what they're doing and knowing how hard they trained, obviously, you never want to say goodbye to your friends and you recognize the fact that their families will be waiting for them on Earth and missing them. We know just what a great opportunity it is for them. So, it'll be great to see them get to work.

This is your first space flight and you're getting to conduct possibly two space walks. You're operating the shuttle's robot arm, and you're going to the International Space Station. What kind of advice have you gotten from your fellow astronauts about all you're about to undertake?

Well, I've gotten a lot of advice and a lot of support. I'll tell you when I first completed my ASCAN training and you start to look ahead toward your first flight, you get a lot of advice from the folks in the office. And, it usually was something like this: "For your first flight, you don't care what you're doing or who you're doing it with as long as you get to fly in space." And, they say, "After your first flight, then when you're ready to go fly again, what you do - the mission - becomes very important." And, "If you get the opportunity to fly a third time, even the mission isn't as important as who you go flying with." And, I feel like, with this being my first flight, I got the trifecta because I got a great mission. I'm getting to go fly in space, and I'm doing it with three of the best folks that I could have ever flown with. And, the Expedition crew being onboard just tops it off. So, I feel very fortunate to get the opportunity to do this. And, when I first got here, if I could've said three things that I would like to do before I left, it would've been to visit the space station, to do a space walk and to operate the arm. So, I feel very fortunate to get a chance to do this.

Has it been difficult to become proficient in all these areas you have to be really, really good in?

I'll let you know when I get there. It has been a lot of work. However, the training that we get before, even before our, assignment as a crew really pays off. I've had the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the pool in the spacesuit preparing for a space walk. And, that has made the EVA training go a lot easier. I had not had the opportunity to fly the arm, but I feel like my background as a helicopter pilot has helped out a little bit with that. And, I have had such a supportive crew. Recognizing, my limitations probably as a rookie, they have scheduled the activities for me so that I can concentrate on the primary tasks that I have.

This is an International Space Station you're going to. What's your assessment of how the partner nations are working together?

Well, from my point of view, down in the trenches, I think things are going very well. Just the fact that we have the opportunity to work with the Russians on our flight, on a daily basis, has gone very well. And, I've had the opportunity to get to know Yury Usachev, who we're bringing back, well and his family. And, I just think things are going great.

We're flying this International Space Station. Why do you think it's there? Why is it so important?

Well, I think, first of all, it's important because I think it's our future. If I didn't believe that space was our future, I probably would not be spending the amount of time and effort that I do in this program. And, I don't think it's something that we can do just as one country, as the United States. I think we're capable of great things. But, I think our goal of the space station is an international goal, and I think that all the partners ought to be working on it. And, I would hope that they see it the same way.