Retired astronaut Scott Kelly on life in space and Starliner crew's delayed return (2024)

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

The crew of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is still on the International Space Station, and there is no word on when they'll be home. Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were expecting about a weeklong trip to space when they lifted off in early June. But Starliner has been plagued with malfunctions, and NASA has wanted to take a closer look at the spacecraft before they head back to Earth. NASA recently announced that it's extending the astronauts' stay indefinitely. So what is life like for an astronaut stuck on the International Space Station? If anybody knows, it's Scott Kelly, an astronaut who completed both a six-month and a yearlong mission on the space station. Thanks for joining us.

SCOTT KELLY: My pleasure.

DETROW: So what does it mean when two unexpected long-term guests suddenly show up in such close quarters? Like, what's the No. 1 way that that affects life on the space station?

KELLY: You know, when I was there, we had some visitors, and my first long duration flight, a space shuttle crew arrived, and that's seven people. You know, of those people, most of them had never been on a long duration flight before. So it's almost like your relatives showing up at your house at the - you know, the holidays. You're kind of excited to see them.

DETROW: Yeah.

KELLY: But after a while, you're also excited to see them leave. You know, the difference with Butch and Suni is they've both previously been long duration crew members. They've had a lot of ISS training. I'm sure they're very comfortable on board, and I'm sure they can also help contribute to, you know, what the permanent crew is trying to accomplish up there now. So I don't see it as a burden for anybody, except maybe for the people on the ground that deal with the logistics of having extra people on board.

DETROW: Yeah. But I feel like even guests I like, I do get tired of, and I can go outside to avoid them. I mean, can you just paint a picture for - of how close the quarters are? I think we've all seen just those bedrooms as the very small, phone-booth-sized personal space you've got in the spaceship. Like, how often are you seeing somebody when suddenly they're on the space station more than they were supposed to be?

KELLY: You know, the space station is really big, and it's the size of, like, a four-bedroom house that has a lot of stuff inside. But you never - you know, you never really feel claustrophobic. And I was up there one time for about six weeks with only two Russian guys, and it was extraordinarily peaceful. And I'd go, you know, long periods of time without seeing anybody. In this case, I would imagine, you know, there was more frequent contact. The sleeping quarters, despite being small, are extraordinarily adequate and comfortable.

DETROW: What is your main view of this situation? - because I feel like some people just find it to be kind of comical. Some people have concerns about, you know, is there a real problem with Starliner? I don't know. There's a lot of ways to look at it. How do you look at it?

KELLY: Yeah. You know, obviously, Starliner's had a lot of issues, right? It's taken much longer than they anticipated to get it flying, and then now that it's on orbit on a test flight, it's not performing ideally, right? But that's why we do this stuff. I mean, we launch rockets. Unfortunately, sometimes they fail. We test spacecraft for failure. You know, we try to do it in a very safe and methodical way. We hope that that's not the outcome, but sometimes - you know, sometimes it is. And the idea is to learn what you need to know to make it safer next time, to fix the problems and go fly again. And, you know, I'm confident in the - you know, in the organization, NASA, particularly that monitors these things. I know a lot of the people involved in the engineering, and they're all very dedicated to doing what's the right thing and what's the safest thing for the crew.

DETROW: NASA has said that they're not just hanging around. They're giving them tasks to do. But since, you know, they weren't part of the main mission to begin with, it seems like they might have more downtime. What was some of your favorite ways to pass downtime on the space station?

KELLY: Well, you know, you got one of the best windows that's ever been made to look out of with an incredibly beautiful planet below. You know, that's something that can, you know, certainly occupy a lot of your downtime. Certainly on a short mission, like they are, you know, only - you know, they'll wind up being up there, I don't know, 60, 70 days. By, you know, normal NASA standards these days, that's relatively short. So they're probably - despite having flown in space before, they're probably not getting tired of the view yet.

DETROW: Yeah. Did you ever get - even after a year, get tired of the view?

KELLY: Yeah, I wouldn't say I got tired of it, but I - it became very familiar to me.

DETROW: Yeah.

KELLY: You know, understand half of the Earth is the Pacific Ocean. So often when you look out, you're looking at water. You know, having said that, I never got tired of looking at the Earth, but it did definitely become very familiar. And I remember one of my last days in space, I opened the window shade on the cupola, and I saw a patch of desert sand that just from the color and the texture, I knew it was this little desert that was northeast of Mogadishu in Somalia. And I immediately thought, huh, must be time to come home.

DETROW: (Laughter) So Scott Kelly, I do want to ask while I have you on the line - just want to point out your identical twin brother is being seriously considered for vice president, it seems. Any urgent texts on your phone while you've been talking to me?

KELLY: No.

DETROW: Is there - I mean, a lot of people are Googling your brother this week - anything that people should know about him?

KELLY: Well, clearly unbiased, but I think he's a great choice for this position. You know, he's been a public servant since we were teenagers. We both drove ambulances and were EMTs together. He was a fighter pilot in the Navy, served in combat, flew 39 combat missions, was a test pilot, you know, very technically oriented guy and engineer, NASA astronaut. Really, I think one of the best people I've ever seen in my life at compartmentalizing and dealing with crises, particularly when his wife, Gabby, was shot in January of 2011. So I think he provides something that is maybe a little bit different than the other candidates, but I think - and he would absolutely agree that, you know, for him, I think the most important thing is they pick the right candidate.

DETROW: Based on your resumes, I would guess the two of you are probably a little competitive. I don't know. Is being vice president cooler than spending a year in space? Is that a concern for you?

KELLY: You know, all jobs - right? - come with the goods and the others, right...

DETROW: Yeah.

KELLY: ...That come with them. And certainly, there's a lot of great things about being an astronaut and being in space for a year. But, you know, there's a lot of sacrifices. And I'm sure that there are a lot of great things about the vice president. But there's probably a lot of sacrifices you're going to make to do it. But I think for him, what is important is to do the right thing that will - and pick the right person that will most benefit the American people.

DETROW: That's retired astronaut, Scott Kelly. Thank you so much for talking to us about life in space.

KELLY: My pleasure.

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