Chris Hadfield and the International Space Station
CONTENTS Fire Alarm Becoming an Astronaut Space at Last Focus on The International Space Station Training for the Third Space Mission What Is Life Like on the ISS What Work Is Done Aboard the ISS Focus on Dangers in Space Returning to Earth Focus on Traveling to Mars The Future for Hadfield and the ISS Timeline Glossary Find Out More Index
FIRE ALARM Chris Hadfield was fast asleep He was aboard the International Space Station ISS flying about 250 miles 400 kilometers above Earth Suddenly a horn was blaring Hadfield was awake in an instant and so were his three American crewmates They looked at the emergency lights on the wall to see what was wrong It was the fire alarm DEALING WITH DANGER Fire is one of the biggest threats on any spacecraft It can cause massive damage and spread very quickly You can’t escape because there is nowhere to go Astronauts are trained not to panic but rather to solve the problem carefully and calmly
Chris Hadfield and his crew made regular checks of the complex equipment aboard the ISS A member of Hadfield’s team alerted the Russian crew who slept in a different part of the ISS Together they checked the computer systems and smoke detectors There was no sign of fire They decided the alarm was triggered by an electrical fault and went back to bed
What is the International Space Station The International Space Station ISS is a flying research laboratory that orbits Earth Developed by the United States Russia Japan Europe and Canada it is home to a crew of up to six astronauts who conduct scientific experiments while on board The ISS is constructed of several pieces that were launched separately starting in 1998 and assembled in space LIVING IN SPACE Chris Hadfield had faced many potentially dangerous moments like this one He had already flown on two missions into space Now in 2013 and on his third space trip he was commander of the ISS Altogether he would spend 165 days more than five months in space during his career and he would travel 70
