KrakowInformer.com

Terry Virts spoke in Krakow about astronaut's life and new possibilities of space travels

Terry Virts is an astronaut and a military pilot

Endeavour crew

Virts’ lecture was attended by over 100 people. Famous astronaut demonstrated some of 9 thousand pictures he and his crew took from outer space during STS 130 mission, and also some films taken inside the International Space Station. Some of the most interesting moments included astronauts’ behavior in zero gravity, like trying to eat scrambled eggs while it’s floating away and playing ping-pong with a big drop of water. It is because of such inconvenience that most objects have Velcro o be easily attached to astronauts’ uniforms.

 - People think that the launch is the most difficult part of the mission, probably because it’s so spectacular, with all that flashing and noise, but I’d say that it is landing that is more dangerous – said Virts. – When you enter the atmosphere the air heats up to 2,000 degrees Celsius and it turns into plasma and glows orange and red. This makes you wonder if your heat shield withstands these conditions.

 - The most exciting moments were when I first saw the open space and the Earth at night. By the lights you can tell where people live and where the deserted areas are – said Virts stressing that to become an astronaut one not only needs to be an academic, but also a practitioner.

Terry Virts’ visit was a part of 10^th annual Krakow Science Festival.