Had one of the more terrifying, but rewarding experiences of my career last week.  I was hooked up live with no encryption to S/G (space to ground) to talk to my crew on orbit.  It was a little intimidating, and there’s not a whole lot of training that people give you before you do these things other than: don’t be an idiot and remember there’s a delay… because they’re in space.  It’s funny what a difference it makes to talk to your crew on orbit versus talking to them on the ground.  On the ground, it’s just you and the astronaut. They’re regular people just like you in me.  In space, they’re a beacon. The world and everyone in that control center can hear everything you say, and you’re recorded in the books for all time.  I had mixed but positive reviews.  Crew enjoyed the conference, the guy on console with me told me I should be a news reporter, and the flight director told me I was talking kind of fast but hey, the crew kept up with me so that was ok.  I have an mp3 of the conference, but I haven’t been brave enough to listen to it yet.  Maybe tomorrow…

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