Scott Kelly - Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery

Amiko said to me once, Teamwork makes the dream work, and spaceflight is the biggest team sport there is, so spending any amount of time in space takes the support and collaboration of thousands of people. From the instructors who train us to the flight controllers and flight directors working in mission control to my friends and family keeping me connected to my life on Earththere isnt enough space in this book to thank them all, so one collective thank you will have to suffice.

Above all, I have to recognize my partnerand now fianceAmiko Kauderer. I hope the pages of this book make clear what it meant to me that she was with me day by day throughout this journey, experiencing together its challenges and triumphs and its highs and lows. Ive tried to express what a crucial role shes played in this missions success, but words can never express the role she has played in my life these last eight years. Thank you, Amiko.

My kids, Samantha and Charlotte, have sacrificed much for their dad. From missed birthdays and holidays to the general disruption of their lives, accepting the inherent risks of spaceflight and sharing their dad with the world. They were brave, adaptable, and resilient. I appreciate and am proud of how you handled it all with strength and grace. Thank you.

My brother, Mark, has been by my side since my birth, challenged and supported me throughout our lives. Having also flown in space, he understood the thrill, the trials, and the hardships of this journey. His support and counsel Ive come to rely on and much appreciate. Thank you.

My parents endured the emotional toll of watching their sons launch into space and await our safe return to Eartha total of seven times for my mother, Patricia, and eight times for my father, Richard. Thank you to my mother also for showing me by her example what it took to achieve a lofty goal.

My ex-wife, Leslie, lent her willing support, accepting the role of a full-time single parent, ensuring our daughters were safe and cared for back on Earth each time I went to work off the planet. Thank you.

Writing a book is a team effort as well. This is my first experience writing a book, but it was also the first time my collaborator Margaret worked on someone elses book. Despite this, the experience couldnt have been an easier collaborative effort. From the beginning, Margaret showed herself as trustworthy in not only maintaining confidentiality but also by allowing me to open myself and explore my own emotions, which helped bring these personal stories to life. Thanks, Margaret, for helping me through this process and thanks for your friendship.

Our editor, Jonathan Segal, was also critical to the process and final product. Thank you, Jonathan. I also need to thank my literary agent, Elyse Cheney, for not only inking this deal with the publisher but also for being a mentor and friend.

My flight surgeon, Dr. Steve Gilmore, deserves a special recognition for taking care of my health in space and on Earth for many years and for providing critical insight to much of the medically related content.

I have to thank some of the people who offered their perspectives on the experiences I describe and allowed me to tell their stories. Many people helped by filling in details, offering input on drafts of the book, and helping out in other ways big and small. Thank you to Bill Babis, Chris Bergin, Dr. Steve Blackwell, Beth Christman, Paul Conigliaro, Samantha Cristoforetti, Dr. Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Tilman Fertitta, Steve Frick, Dr. Bob Gibson, Marco Grob, Ana Guzman, Martha Handler, Dr. Elena Hansen, Brooke Heathman, Christopher Hebert, Giselle Hewitt, Dr. Al Holland, Akihiko Hoshide, Bill Ingalls, Omar Izquierdo, Dr. Smith Johnston, Dr. Jeff Jones, Bob Kelman, Sergey Klinkov, Nathan Koga, Mike Lammers, Dr. Kjell Lindgren, Dr. Gioia Massa, Dr. Megan McArthur, Dr. Brian Miles, Rob Navias, Dr. James Picano, Dr. Julie Robinson, Jerry Ross, Tom Santangelo, Daria Shcherbakova, Kirk Shireman, Scott Stover, Jerry Tarnoff, Robert Tijerina, Terry Virts, Sergey Volkov, Dr. Shannon Walker, Dr. Liz Warren, Doug Wheelock, and Dr. Dave Williams.

And finally, I have to thank Tom Wolfe for his early inspiration. I truly believe if I had not read The Right Stuff as an eighteen-year-old, I would not have written this book or had the privilege of flying in space.

A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS

S COTT K ELLY is a former military fighter pilot and test pilot, an engineer, a retired astronaut, and a retired U.S. Navy captain. A veteran of four spaceflights, Kelly commanded the International Space Station (ISS) on three expeditions and was a member of the yearlong mission to the ISS. During the Year in Space mission, he set records for the total accumulated number of days spent in space and for the single longest space mission by an American astronaut. He lives in Houston, Texas.

M ARGARET L AZARUS D EAN is the author of The Time It Takes to Fall and Leaving Orbit. She is an associate professor at the University of Tennessee and lives in Knoxville.

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February 20, 2015

Y OU HAVE TO go to the ends of the Earth in order to leave the Earth. Since the space shuttles were retired in 2011, weve depended on the Russians to launch us into space, and we must start with a journey to the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the desert steppes of Kazakhstan. First, I fly from Houston to Moscow, a familiar journey of eleven hours, and from there ride in a van to Star City, Russia, forty-five miles awayanywhere from one to four hours, depending on Moscow traffic. Star City is the Russian equivalent of the Johnson Space Center; its the place where the cosmonauts have been trained for the last fifty years (and, more recently, the astronauts who will travel to space with them).

Star City is a town with its own mayor and a church, museums, and apartment blocks. There is a giant statue of Yuri Gagarin, who became the first human in space in 1961, taking a simple, humble socialist-realist step forward while holding a bouquet of flowers behind his back. Years ago, the Russian space agency built a row of town houses especially for us Americans, and staying in them is sort of like staying on a movie set based on a Russian stereotype of how Americans live. There are huge fridges and huge TVs but somehow everything is slightly off. Ive spent a lot of time in Star City, including serving as NASAs director of operations there, but it still feels foreign to me, especially in the heart of the frozen Russian winter. After a few weeks of training, I find myself longing to head back to Houston.

From Star City we fly 1,600 miles to Baikonur, once the secret launch site for the Soviet space program. People sometimes say that a place is in the middle of nowhere, but I never say that anymore unless Im talking about Baikonur. The launch site was actually built in a village called Tyuratam, named for a descendant of Genghis Khan, but was referred to as Baikonur, the name of another town several hundred miles away, as subterfuge. Now this is the only place called Baikonur. Early on, the Soviets also referred to their launch facility as Star City so as to further confuse the United States. For an American who grew up and trained as a Navy pilot during the tail end of the Cold War, it will always feel a bit strange that Im invited into the epicenter of the former Soviet space program to be taught its secrets. The people who live in Baikonur now are mostly Kazakh, descendants of Turkic and Mongol tribes, with a minority of ethnic Russians who were left behind after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Russia leases the facilities here from Kazakhstan. The Russian ruble is the main currency, and all the vehicles have Russian license plates.