I thought it would get easier. During the selection process we were tested, we were pushed to our limits to see how we would perform. Physically of course, mentally goes without saying. But also psychologically. When I received the call letting me know that I had made it into the analog astronaut class of 2019, I felt pride, relief, elation. And I was looking forward to the first training block with excitement. And I thought it would get easier.
It changed, of course. Our tasks no longer consisted of tests that were designed to expose our weaknesses, and the sense of competition has almost disappeared completely. I say almost because there is always that friendly competitiveness, the kind that one learns well from an older brother, the kind you can use to bond together. It’s a supportive competition now. But things aren’t that much easier. The activities that were tests have been relabeled as training. But the physical exercises of Block one have left me as exhausted as the selection process, and our minds are being crammed full of information.
It’s understandable, of course. We only have a handful of weekends to go from being analog astronaut enthusiasts to being able to perform everything that is expected of an analog astronaut. And the first training block gave us a good introduction of what will be expected. We were told we had to be comfortable with radio language and use of the NATO radio alphabet. I had initially no idea about it, so I’ve been randomly spelling things in my head the last couple weeks using the alphabet. Charlie Oscar Foxtrot Foxtrot Echo Echo. We also had the first practice sessions with the suit gloves. It is important to be able to use them to do things where you’d want smaller fingers, so they had us tie shoelaces with them. It’s amazing how a couple layers of glove material can make such a simple task take what feels like an eternity to complete. My first tries were very slow with everything, and I can see the importance that practice will play. I’m going to have to get a lot better at this. But that’s why we’re here. But now I have to move on. I have some training materials to read and to prepare for my next session.
Author: Robert Wild
- Tagged: AMADEE-20, analog astronauts, class of 2019, Serenity, Training
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