LESSONS FROM A NASA ASTRONAUT
Dr Ed Lu, Physicist, Former NASA Astronaut
As David Bowie once sang...
“Here I am floating in a tin can far above the world, Planet Earth is blue nothing I can do…” A spacewalk is the most out-there thing any of us can imagine. Being as far away from those we know and love as anyone has ever been, attached to a space ship by only a cable. As if by intergalactic magic, Dr Ed Lu, Physicist, Former NASA Astronaut – was beamed onto our screens at the BFI in London from California. What ensued was a heart-warming, inspiring session delivered by a charismatic man that put many things into perspective.
A sense of perspective
Flying over the war in Bosnia, Ed turned to his fellow astronaut and said, “I wish they had our viewpoint from here.”
Don’t put things off. In 2003, Ed lost one of his crew members, Ilan Ramon, in the Columbia shuttle fatal re-entry accident. They had been putting off getting their families together for months due to work commitments. To this day, it is one of Ed’s life’s regrets that he put this off.
You don’t need a whole lot to be happy. When you go to space you only get 250 grams personal allowance for six months, you don’t spend money or have showers.
Life in space
Waiting for the launch he was so exhausted he fell asleep!
Real tomatoes taste great when you have been eating tinned food for months.
No showers for six months – astronauts clean themselves with clinical soap and towels.
Straight off landing you go into a press conference.
Advice
If safety is your number one goal – you will not do anything. Take intelligent risks, when the rewards are greater than the risks it’s time to push the button
Don’t put things off – you don’t know what’s going to happen
Never get into a drinking competition with Russians!
Ed, also said he learnt from Russia that simple is good
Don’t micro manage your team from afar. You just need to give them very clear goals and direction.
"I wish people could see how beautiful the world is"
Dr Ed Lu, Physicist, Former NASA Astronaut
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