[ MUSIC ]
>> IT'S THE, UH, LAUNCH DAY.
IT'S A LITTLE WINDY
OUT HERE TODAY.
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY.
UH, IT'S A LITTLE WINDY.
IT'S GOT ME CONCERNED.
MY-MY LAUNCH INTUITION IS,
UH, TINGLING A BIT.
I GREW UP HERE IN FLORIDA.
I CAME TO THIS VERY SPOT OUT
HERE IN THE CAUSEWAY AS A KID.
MY DAD WOULD TAKE US TO
LAUNCHES ALL THE TIME.
SO PERSONALLY, OH,
IT'S LIKE THE KID IN ME
COMES OUT WHEN I COME HERE.
IT'S REALLY COOL.
I'VE BEEN ON BOTH SIDES OF IT.
I'VE BEEN A RESEARCHER,
AND NOW I'VE BEEN--
I'M NOW HELPING RESEARCHERS.
AND I GOTTA SAY,
IT'S-IT'S NERVOUS ON BOTH SIDES.
YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORRY.
I GUESS, AS A SCIENTIST YOU
HAVE A LOT OF WORK INVOLVED.
AS A PAYLOAD PROVIDER,
Y-YOU HOPE YOU'VE CHECKED
ALL THE BOXES AND YOU'VE
DONE ALL THAT YOU CAN DO
TO MAKE EVERYTHING WORK
FOR THE RESEARCHER
SO THAT THEY GET GOOD DATA.
I-IT'S NOT EASY TO PUT EVEN
THE MOST SIMPLEST PAYLOADS
ON THE SPACE STATION.
BUT IT'S WORTH IT.
IT'S WORTH ALL THE WORK.
I THINK SOME OF THE BIGGEST
DISCOVERIES WE HAVE--
UH, WE HAVE MADE
AND ARE GOING TO FIND
ARE UP IN THE SPACE STATION.
IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
>> WELL, WE'VE BEEN REALLY
NERVOUS ALL THE WAY UP
UNTIL RIGHT THIS MOMENT,
NERVOUS THAT OUR-OUR DREAMS
AREN'T ACTUALLY GONNA HAPPEN.
BUT NOW THAT THE, UM, YOU KNOW,
LARGER COUNTDOWN IS HAPPENING,
AND THE ROCKET'S ALL FUELED UP,
EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE
IT'S GONNA HAPPEN ON TIME.
IT'S GETTING REALLY EXCITING,
THE LAST, YOU KNOW,
15-MINUTE WINDOW
BEFORE IT TAKES OFF.
YOU KNOW, THANKS TO
CASIS FOR FUNDING THIS.
THANKS TO NANORACKS FOR
HELPING US COORDINATE
AND MAKING THE HARDWARE
AND COORDINATING ALL
THE DATA COLLECTION, TOO.
THANK YOU FOR THE ASTRONAUTS
WHO ARE GONNA BE WORKING ON
THIS PROJECT ON THE STATION.
SO A LOT OF-- A LOT OF
PEOPLE WORKED ON THIS.
IT'S NOT JUST THE TWO OF US.
IT'S BEEN A LOT OF PEOPLE,
SO, UH, WE REALLY
APPRECIATE ALL THEIR SUPPORT.
>> SEVEN, SIX, FIVE, FOUR,
THREE, TWO, ONE, ZERO.
AND LIFTOFF.
>> WHOO!
>> FALCON 9 AND CARGO DRAGON
TAKE FLIGHT, BOUND FOR
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
WITH FRESH SUPPLIES
AND RESEARCH,
HELPING TO MAINTAIN OUR
HUMAN PRESENCE IN SPACE
AS THE STATION CELEBRATES
ITS 20th ANNIVERSARY.
[ MUSIC ]
>> IT'D BE INCREDIBLE JUST
TO WATCH IT, NO MATTER WHAT.
BUT KNOWING THAT WE HAVE
A PERSONAL INVESTMENT IN IT
MAKES IT A--
MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.
>> YEAH, SO IT'S JUST KNOWING
THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN
WORKING ON IS ON IT,
AND-AND THEN WATCHING
THE WHOLE-- LIKE,
THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE MAKES
IT JUST DIFFERENT.
IT'S-- IT REALLY--
I CAN'T FIND THE RIGHT
WORDS TO EXPLAIN IT.
>> I DEFINITELY FEEL LIKE
THE WORK LEADING UP TO IT
WAS WORTHWHILE.
>> YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
AND WATCHING IT
WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND.
>> YEAH.
>> AND, LIKE, SOMEONE THAT
YOU'VE BEEN WORKING WITH
FOR SUCH A LONG TIME.
AND IT'S JUST...
>> OH.
>> IT'S-- YEAH.
I THINK--
IT COULDN'T GET BETTER.
THAT'S WHAT I CAN SAY.
>> YEAH, UH--
>> I DIDN'T WANT TO
DO IT WITH ANYONE ELSE.
>> YEAH, THAT IS THE EXACT
SAME SENTIMENT THAT I HAVE.
SO IT WAS REALLY--
IT WAS REALLY SPECIAL THAT
WE COULD BOTH BE HERE.
>> YEAH.
>> AND WATCH IT TOGETHER.
[ MUSIC ]
>> OUR SCIENTISTS' EXPERIMENT
IS OFFICIALLY ON ITS WAY TO
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
THE SpaceX DRAGON CAPSULE THAT
GIVES THE RESEARCH ITS RIDE TO
LOW-EARTH ORBIT NOW MUST MAKE
THE LAST LEG OF ITS JOURNEY
TO THE HANDS OF THE ASTRONAUTS
IN MICROGRAVITY.
>> WHAT'S NEAT FOR US IS
WE'VE GOT CARGO VEHICLES
COMING AND GOING TO
THE ISS ALL THE TIME.
IT IS REALLY LIKE
A BUSY PARKING LOT.
VEHICLES COME IN.
THEY STAY FOR A FEW MONTHS.
WE DO A WHOLE BUNCH OF SCIENCE,
AND THEN THEY LEAVE AGAIN.
AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT,
THE NEXT ONE'S COMING UP.
NOW WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER
IS THAT THESE VEHICLES
CANNOT DOCK THEMSELVES
TO THE SPACE STATION.
WE HAVE TO BRING THEM
INTO THE SPACE STATION
UTILIZING ROBOTICS.
AND WHAT I LIKE TO TELL PEOPLE
IS PERFORMING ROBOTICS,
GOING OUT AND CAPTURING
THAT VEHICLE, IS LIKE
A REALLY DIFFICULT VIDEO GAME.
AND SO WE PRACTICE OVER
AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN
USING COMPUTER SIMULATIONS
ON HOW TO ACTUALLY CAPTURE
THAT CARGO VEHICLE TO
BRING IT INTO STATION.
ONCE THAT CARGO VEHICLE
DOCKS TO STATION, WE DO
A SERIES OF PRESSURE CHECKS
AND EQUALIZE THAT PRESSURE WITH
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION,
AND FINALLY WE GET TO
OPEN THE HATCH.
VERY QUICKLY,
THE CREW STARTS TO MOVE,
BECAUSE WE'VE GOT SOME
EXPERIMENTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY
KEPT AT CERTAIN TEMPERATURES,
AND WE HAVE TO TRANSFER THEM
QUICKLY OUT AND KEEP THEM AT
THE SAME TEMPERATURE THERE
ONBOARD THE SPACE STATION.
ELAINE AND PARASTOO's RESEARCH
IS ONE OF THE EXPERIMENTS
THAT REQUIRES QUICK UNLOADING.
STORED AT A CONSTANT TEMPERATURE
TO ENSURE THE HYDROGELS
STAY INTACT, IT'S ONE OF
THE FIRST ITEMS THAT ASTRONAUTS
MUST REMOVE FROM DRAGON.
THEN WITH THE EXPERIMENT FINALLY
ABOARD THE SPACE STATION,
IT'S TIME TO CONDUCT
SCIENCE IN MICROGRAVITY.
>> THIS WAS FANTASTIC FOR ME.
THIS IS WHAT I DO.
THIS MEANS A LOT TO ME
AS A CLINICIAN.
AND SO IT WAS REALLY NEAT TO
BE ABLE TO PERFORM THAT
SORT OF SCIENCE ON STATION.
>> SUBMISSION 1002 IS LOADED.