Exchange with students, Western students, Michael A. Baker, former NASA astronaut talked about 7 minutes of the flight process and in the first 2 minutes if something goes wrong, the crew will fly out by parachute.
Coming to Vietnam to attend the opening ceremony of NASA Week in Hau Giang on June 5, Michael A. Baker shared "very happy and happy to come to the beautiful country of Vietnam". He also brings many experience stories of people who have spent more than 6 hours in aeroplanes and 5.400 hours in space.
At launch, he said, the rocket can reach speeds of up to 50.000 miles per hour, having to overcome the density of the Earth's gravity. "Within the first 7 minutes, overcoming the gravity of the Earth's gravity, the flight is completed after that," he said.
Michael A. Baker interacts with young people in the West of Vietnam. Image: Peaceful
Born in Memphis, Tennessee (USA) but Michael A. Baker always mentioned Lemoore, California as his hometown. In 1975, Baker graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering. Just two years later, he completed his flight training and earned his Golden Wings badge at Naval Air Station Chase Field, Beeville.
Baker served in the US Navy as a pilot, then as a pilot instructor, before NASA selected him as an astronaut in 1985.
After the disappearance of the space shuttle Challenger on STS-51L in 1986, Baker worked to improve the shuttle's landing and deceleration systems. Not only researching this type of ship, he has conducted structural tests suitable for aircraft carriers, certification tests of aircraft carrier catapults and arresters, as well as verification and certification tests. automatic landing system with different types of aircraft carriers of the Navy fleet on A-7 aircraft.
From his role as pilot instructor, he was assigned as a US Navy exchange instructor at the Empire Test Pilot School in Boscombe Down, UK, teaching performance, flight quality and test engineering. flight system.
The 1953-born astronaut has recorded more than 5.400 flight hours on about 50 different types of aircraft, including tactical jets, vertical take-off and landing (VSTOL) aircraft and multi-engine transport aircraft. and rotary-wing aircraft, and had more than 300 carrier landings.
Baker served as a pilot for his first two flights. He performed missions STS-43 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1991 and STS-52 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in 1992. He then commanded STS-68 in 1994, launching the Space Radar Laboratory. Board the Space Shuttle effort. He also commanded STS-81 in 1997, using Atlantis to carry supplies, experiments, and astronauts to Russia's Mir Space Station. Accordingly, Baker spent about 965 hours flying in space for the above 4 missions.
Michael A. Baker (far left) and the 52 STS-1991 crew. Source: Wikimedia Commons
On the Youtube channel TheScienceKid in September 9, Baker was asked the question "Who is the astronaut"? He humorously replied that astronauts are simply people who fly in space.
He said, in his early days at NASA, he was called an astronaut candidate. “At that time, I had a first year to learn to fly the T-38 and trained with the space shuttle. I and other candidates have had the opportunity to participate in various training courses and in-depth but very interesting research topics. I remember taking geography and oceanography, high-speed aerodynamics, public speaking skills and many other courses,” the former NASA astronaut told TheScienceKid Youtube channel.
He added that, usually at the end of each year, NASA has a round to evaluate astronaut candidates to see if they meet the criteria or not. When selected to participate in a certain mission, they will officially be called astronauts.
Since then, astronauts have continued to be assigned a number of other jobs at the office, with the overall mission of supporting missions being carried out at NASA.
Baker remembers best when he first entered the space shuttle's avionics integration laboratory. “This is an interesting place, where all the avionics on the shuttle with the same cable length and all the relevant elements are in one room. That's where we do all the testing on the software," said Baker.
He said that with his position, he first needed to know how to turn on the switches and control the equipment in the cockpit. After completing the initial lessons, Baker was assigned the position of Capcom - the person in charge of communicating with the crew members from the mission control center. "I learned a lot in the mission control center, with the flight controllers, and I was the one doing it all," he said.
Prior to his final mission, Baker traveled to Russia and Kazakhstan to attend the fifth module launch for the Mir space station, Spektr. He then served as assistant director of the Manned Space Flight Program at Johnson Space Center, Russia, until 5. He went on to become the International Space Station program manager for the International Space Station. international operations and crew, coordinating NASA's participation in Russian Soyuz flights.
Brian Kelly, Flight Operations Manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center (2017), said: "It's hard to imagine NASA operations in Russia and Kazakhstan without Michael A. Baker. He's been an integral part of our work since the birth of the International Space Station."
Answer the question: "If someone asked you if you should be an astronaut or not, what would you say", Baker's answer was "Yes". However, he did not forget to emphasize that astronaut candidates will face fierce competition. He told about the time when NASA received 16.000-17.000 applications for 10 astronaut quotas.
“Even luck is a very important factor. Test pilots often have a lot in common with each other, from expertise to attitude. I don't know how NASA evaluates to categorize the candidates and make the final selection," Baker added.
Michael A. Baker exchanges in Hau Giang on June 5. Image: Peaceful
Referring to his time in school, Baker said he once had aspirations of becoming an engineer or a doctor, if not working as an astronaut. He said he always had a backup plan when he went to school because he was concerned that he did not have the health and eyesight conditions to be able to become an astronaut.
“I used to think I was going to be a doctor or an engineer. Math is relatively easy for me. I really like this subject but I don't understand why I can't get a Bachelor's degree in mathematics. I worked really hard to get good marks in this subject, and then I applied it to a lot of things,” Baker shared.
After many orientations, Baker finally became an excellent astronaut with many memorable achievements with many honorary awards. He is now retired and holds a position as an advisor to biotech company Rhodium Scientific in Houston, Texas, according to NASA.
Bich Thao
