THE ISS IS, I WOULD SAY,
A VERY CRITICAL STEPPING
STONE IN HUMAN
EXPLORATION BEYOND LOW EARTH ORBIT.
I'M NASA ASTRONAUT, MIKE BARRATT, PILOT
OF THE CREW-8 MISSION
TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
I WAS BORN IN VANCOUVER,
WASHINGTON, IN THE SOUTHWEST
PART OF THE STATE.
GREW UP AROUND THE CITY OF CAMAS,
VERY SMALL TOWN
IN A FARMING COMMUNITY,
AND WE HAD ABOUT 80 ACRES OR SO.
WE RAISED SHEEP AND CATTLE
AND IT WAS A REALLY GREAT UPBRINGING.
THERE WAS PLENTY OF THE NATURAL WORLD
AROUND US TO REALLY BE FASCINATING.
AND I HAD INTEREST SPARKED IN ASTRONOMY
AND OCEANOGRAPHY AND PHOTOGRAPHY.
I BUILT TELESCOPES IN HIGH SCHOOL
AND I HAD THIS COMMANDING
DARK SKY OUT THERE.
IT WAS REALLY QUITE MAGNIFICENT.
AND I WENT THROUGH THESE PHASES OF ONLY
WANTING TO BE AN OCEANOGRAPHER
OR ONLY WANTING TO BE AN ASTRONOMER.
AND ALL THIS
WITH THE BACKDROP
OF ALWAYS HAVING TO FIX THINGS
AND GET UP AND TAKE CARE OF ANIMALS
AND A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DISCIPLINE,
WHICH I PROBABLY DIDN'T
APPRECIATE SO MUCH AT THE TIME,
BUT I CERTAINLY DO NOW.
THE COMBINATION
OF THOSE DEMANDS FOR A LIVING
AND AN INTEREST IN NATURAL SCIENCES,
I THINK PARTLY WHAT LED ME
TO WHERE I AM TODAY.
I CAME TO JOHNSON SPACE CENTER IN 1991
AND I'VE NEVER LEFT,
EXCEPT WHEN I LEFT THE PLANET
A COUPLE OF TIMES.
SPENT NINE YEARS
AS AN NASA FLIGHT SURGEON.
AND I WOULD SAY THAT IS ABSOLUTELY
ONE OF THE DREAM JOBS AT NASA.
I THINK MY PASSION IS THE HUMAN IN SPACE,
HOW WE ADAPT,
HOW WE PREPARE FOR SPACE,
HOW WE REHAB WHEN WE COME BACK,
AND HOW OUR PHYSIOLOGY CHANGES.
AND SO THAT JOB ALLOWS YOU TO DABBLE
IN ALL OF THOSE THINGS
AND BE AMONG THE LAST OF THE PEOPLE
WHO SEE THE CREW
BEFORE THEY LAUNCH, THE FIRST
TO SEE THEM WHEN THEY LAND
AND TO TALK TO THEM EVERY DAY.
THAT WAS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE
AND I WAS VERY,
VERY LUCKY TO TRANSITION TO THE ASTRONAUT
CORPS IN THE YEAR 2000.
THE LAST
TIME I WAS ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE
STATION WAS IN 2011.
I WAS FORTUNATE TO FLY
THE LAST
FLIGHT OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY,
AND SHE WAS A MAGNIFICENT STATION
AT THE TIME.
AND WE ACTUALLY PUT THE PERMANENT
MULTIPURPOSE MODULE INTO PLACE
AND WE KIND OF CONSIDERED THE STATION
COMPLETED THAT TIME AND AGAIN
IT WAS NOT SMALL.
SINCE THAT TIME, SHE'S
ACTUALLY GROWN QUITE A BIT.
SO WHAT I EXPECT TO FIND
IS THE CORE OF THE STATION
THAT I LEFT THAT I LOVED
SO MUCH, THAT I SPENT OVER 200 DAYS
ON, PLUS SOME NEW MODULES,
SOME NEW RESEARCH CAPABILITIES.
AND I THINK
AS IMPORTANT AS ANYTHING
NEW DOCKING PORTS
FOR NEW GENERATION SPACECRAFT.
WHAT I REMEMBER MOST FONDLY FROM
MY FIRST MISSION
WAS LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW
AND JUST HANGING OUT
WITH MY SHIPMATES AT THE GALLEY TABLE
AT THE END OF THE OF A LONG WORK DAY.
MY PERSONAL GOAL
IS REALLY TO SEE MY CREW
BECOME PART OF IT, HELP BUILD IT,
AND HAVE US ALL COME DOWN
SO MUCH BETTER THAN WE WERE.
IF WE DO THAT
AND WE'VE EXECUTED OUR MISSION
AND WE'RE FATIGUED, TIRED,
BUT GIDDY WITH SUCCESS,
THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR.