However, the higher we climbed, the view out the window became different from a normal flight. I learned that we were seeing the difference between the troposphere and stratosphere. In flight, it was very smooth and very cold. The instrument attached to the telescope must stay at a low temperature, so we had to bundle up.
I had many favorite parts of the mission. Here are the best three:
- The telescope is on a gyroscope, so if the plane hits turbulence, the telescope will stay locked on its target and the plane will essentially move about the telescope!
- I was able to talk with the head of the German Space Agency about the research he was conducting. I asked him how he would explain it to an eight-year-old and he said, “Oh, that is easy! I would pretend I’m talking to my son.” This reminded me that even though I had this impression of him being a very important scientist, there is more to scientists than just their work.
- I was able to sit in the cockpit for a take-off and landing. This was life changing! I asked the pilot and co-pilot about their paths to becoming NASA pilots. Both men started in the military. I learned that they both love to fly, but they also love to check in on the science and learn amazing new things. To become a NASA pilot, they told me, you have to know how to fly each of the many different types of airplanes that NASA uses to conduct science. I set a new goal--by the time I am 50 years old, I want to be flying airplanes that help conduct science or fight forest fires!
As I told my students, any one of you can be the next NASA pilot, scientist, engineer or teacher.
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