NASA astronaut Bob Hines discusses six months in space

By Sarah Daponde Arts & Features Editor The Christa McAuliffe Center hosted NASA astronaut Bob Hines for a discussion on his flight training and space experience on Feb. 27 in the McCarthy Forum. Irene Porro, director of the McAuliffe Center, introduced Hines, a mission specialist on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission, who spent six months aboard the International Space Station during Expedition 67 and 68. Hines has served over 23 years in the United States Air Force as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot, and space pilot, said Porro. Over the course of his career, he has accumulated over 4,000 hours of flight time in 50 different types of aircraft. “I always wanted to fly,” Hines said. He said getting to visit the Christa McAuliffe Center was special for him as someone who watched the Challenger disaster from his classroom. “As much of a tragedy as it was, it also served as an inspiration for so many people - and I am one of them,” he added. Hines was selected by NASA in 2017 as part of the 21st class of astronauts, who became known as the “turtles,” and began the several years of training required to go into space. “That was obviously one of those life-changing moments, and a really cool opportunity,” said Hines. Hines’ astronaut class included 11 other individuals with different disciplines, including Navy SEALS, scientists, engineers, and microbiologists, he said. Their training involved learning geology, T-38 flight training, Space Station operations, emergency responses, robotics, and Russian. While flight training was “second nature” for him, Hines said he struggled with learning the Russian language. He said they were required to learn Russian because the International Space Station is split into two segments, a U.S. segment and a Russian segment, which are manned by English-speaking astronauts and Russian-speaking cosmonauts. “What we actually speak in orbit is what we call ‘Runglish,’” added Hines. He said they also had to be trained on “expeditionary skills,” which include social training required for isolated environments and working in small teams, such as conflict management and “just being a good person.” Interpersonal skills are a part of the selection process to become an astronaut, Hines added. “It’s not about being at the top of your career field. It’s about how you interact personally, and the interview process plays a lot of that out.” On April 27, 2022, Hines launched into space. It was the SpaceX Dragon’s fourth flight into space. He said his crew named the capsule “Freedom.” As the pilot of the mission, Hines was joined by Kjell Lindgren, Jessica Watkins, Samantha Cristoforetti, and four Russian cosmonauts. When they arrived at the International Space Station, the crew who were previously inhabiting the station went back to Earth. Hines said the Space Station has been continuously manned for around 26 years. Hines and his crew spent six months at the Space Station, doing science “60% to 70% of the time.” Their everyday schedules were scripted in five-minute increments with tasks on a timeline. Among their experiments, he said the most rewarding ones involved growing plants because they were able to see the progress themselves. One of his favorite activities was looking out the Dragon’s window at Earth’s sunsets. He said although they only lasted around seven seconds, they occurred 16 times a day. “Just being able to see the planet from that perspective is an incredible privilege. It is constantly changing - the weather patterns are changing. The colors are changing as you go across the seasons. Every orbit is completely different,” he added. Hines said looking down at the lights on Earth and knowing there were people there helped him “still connect with home.” In addition to research, their schedules included an hour of cardiovascular activity to keep their hearts healthy, and strength training to reduce the effects of zero gravity on their bones. The physical movement also helped conserve their mind-to-muscle connection and coordination. Once a week, Hines said the astronauts all got together for social events, such as throwing makeshift birthday parties and picking movies to watch with the Russian crew members. “You haven’t lived until you’ve seen an American Western that was made in Russia,” Hines added. He said being in space is incredibly hard on the human body and mind, so it was important they kept themselves healthy. “We are regular people,” Hines added. He said he met his wife while he was in flight school, and they have three daughters. Hines was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He grew up in a military family and went to 12 different schools between kindergarten and 12th grade, which he said challenged him academically. He was a three-season athlete, running track and field and cross country, and also playing baseball. He graduated high school in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, and a track and field scholarship brought him to Boston University, he said. Hines said he was accepted to the Naval Academy, but he failed the eye exam he needed to join. “I had 20/30 vision. They said, ‘Oh, you can’t be a pilot.’ And I really wanted to be a pilot. ... I wanted to see if there was another path.” He decided to join the Air Force instead, and passed his physical exam with 20/20 vision. “Divine intervention? I don’t know. It was like, ‘You’re just supposed to be in the Air Force, not the Navy,’” he said. His background of going on six-month deployments in the Air Force prepared him to go into space for an extended period of time, he said. “It felt almost exactly the same. The same little emotional rollercoaster.” Hines said he returned to Earth on Oct. 14, 2022, as the Dragon splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean in the record-breaking time of four and a half hours. Baseline tests were run on the crew upon their return to Earth, and they continued rehabilitation and research for the following two months. Hines said it took a week to be able to walk normally. “It was pretty crazy to have that big of a repositioning in your life in that short period of time,” Hines added. Hines discussed the future of space travel, including the upcoming launch scheduled to happen in April. The Artemis mission is focused on sending humans back to the moon. The launch in April aims to send a crew into orbit around the moon in a single lap. Hines said going back to the moon is the first step toward going to Mars.