I AM MOST EXCITED
FOR THE FUTURE
OF SPACEFLIGHT
FOR AN INFLECTION POINT
THAT I FEEL IS COMING.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE HISTORY
OF CIVILIZATION
AND VARIOUS INFLECTION POINTS,
YOU KNOW, THINGS JUST KIND OF TAKE OFF.
I AM NASA ASTRONAUT MATTHEW
DOMINICK, COMMANDER.
NASA'S SPACE X
CREW-8 MISSION
TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
I GREW UP IN WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO.
I WAS THE OLDEST OF TWO BROTHERS.
I HAD TWO PARENTS THAT WERE AMAZING IN
THAT THEY ENCOURAGED MY CURIOSITY.
GROWING UP THERE IN THE ROCKIES,
IN THE OUTDOORS,
THERE ARE
SO MANY THINGS TO GO AND DO AND SEE.
I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO EXPLORE AND SATIATE
MY CURIOSITY FOR THE WORLD AROUND ME,
AND SO I JUST KEPT PUSHING
THROUGHOUT MY LIFE.
I JOINED THE NAVY
BECAUSE I WANTED TO FLY AIRPLANES.
I WANTED TO GO FAST.
I WANTED TO TEST AIRPLANES.
AND SO ASTRONAUT FOR ME
WAS JUST
THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP IN LIFE
TO KEEP GOING AND KEEP EXPLORING
AND KEEP PUSHING MYSELF
FURTHER
IN TERMS OF INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY
ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND ME.
I'VE BEEN IN NASA
NOW FOR ABOUT SIX YEARS,
AND I'M SUPER EXCITED TO FLY IN SPACE.
WORKING AND TRAINING WITH CREW-8
IS ABSOLUTELY AWESOME.
WE HAVE A DIVERSE GROUP OF ACADEMIC
AND INTELLECTUAL BACKGROUNDS
THAT COME TOGETHER
AND ALSO AN INTERNATIONAL COMPONENT.
IT IS SUCH A BLAST TO WATCH THE CREW
GROW AS WE STARTED
TRAINING OVER TIME
TO WATCH THAT TEAM DYNAMICS DEVELOP
AS WE GET READY TO LAUNCH THAT.
WE'RE STARTING TO SEE
WHAT MAKES EACH OTHER TICK,
WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO EACH OTHER.
I VIEW CREW-8
LIKE AN OLYMPIC TORCH BEARER.
THAT'S WHERE I SEE CREW-8.
WE ARE A TORCH BEARER ON THAT PATH
TO THE OLYMPICS
THAT ARE GOING TO OCCUR IN THE FUTURE
AS WE MOVE HUMANITY FORWARD.
WE'RE GOING UP THERE TO RELIEVE
CREW-7 CREW-9 WILL RELIEVE US.
AND WE ARE KEEPING THE FLAME OF SPACE,
HUMAN PRESENCE, IN LOW-EARTH ORBIT ALIVE.
IF YOU'RE A STUDIER OF SCIENCE
OR STATISTICS, YOU KNOW THAT
YOU ALWAYS WANT TO HAVE A BIG “N,”
AND THAT JUST MEANS SAMPLE SIZE
TO UNDERSTAND THE THING YOU'RE STUDYING.
SO JUST LAUNCHING
ONE OR TWO OR TEN OR 15 PEOPLE TO SPACE
LEAVES YOU WITH A VERY SMALL SAMPLE SIZE.
SO EVERY TIME WE LAUNCH
FOUR MORE PEOPLE TO SPACE,
WE'RE BUILDING OUR SAMPLE SIZE
AND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE HUMAN BODY
AND THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO IT
IN A ZERO GRAVITY ENVIRONMENT
THAT SETS US UP TO GO TO THE MOON.
IT SETS US UP TO GO TO MARS.
MANY FOLKS THINK OF NASA AND
THEY THINK WE'RE USING CRAZY
CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY
AND ALL KINDS OF ADJECTIVES
AND SUPERLATIVES TO MAKE SPACE WORK.
THERE'S NO SMOKE AND MIRRORS.
THERE'S NO MAGIC.
IT IS JUST HARD WORK
THROUGH THE LAWS OF PHYSICS AND BASIC
MATERIAL SCIENCE TO GET US INTO ORBIT.
THAT'S THAT'S THE MAGIC.
WE ARE PART OF A MASSIVE TEAM OF PEOPLE
THAT NEED TO CONTINUE
CONTINUOUS HUMAN PRESENCE
IN LOW-EARTH ORBIT
AND NOT LETTING THAT FLAME GO OUT.
WE ARE LINED
SOLDIERS ON THE GROUND MARCHING
TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS CONTINUES
AND JUST BEING A SMALL PART OF THAT
AND CONTINUING THAT IS WHAT'S IMPORTANT.