Out of This World

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Seattle, WA: How do you sleep when you're up there? I mean, what is the arrangement and, also, was it hard to sleep?

How much space did you have to move around in inside the spaceship?

Charles Simonyi: I slept in a sleeping bag that was loosely tied to some handrails so that it would not float away. The permanent crew have tiny cabins, the others just "hang out" wherever convenient. We all sleep at the same time and during the day the sleeping bag is rolled up and bungied in a corner. The sleep was wonderful, one does not have to toss and turn at all. It is recommended to sleep in a ventillated area otherwise the exhaled carbon dioxide can build up around a person and one can get a terrible headache.

In the Soyuz (2 days) there was a spherical living room, the size of a VW Bug and a separate capsule that is extremely tight when all 3 of us are there, but quite spacious for one person.
The space station was as big as three city busses - lots of room for 6 people, especially when the ceiling as well as the floor can be used for moving around.

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Atlanta, GA: Can you go into more detail on the kinds of tests you had to pass in order to gain clearance for space travel?

Charles Simonyi: Lots of psych tests, centrifuge, various lung tests, altitude chamber, MRI, digestive tract, stress ECG, all other organs, lots of blood work, weightless parabolas - these are just to begin training.

With the training there were lost of exams in the various topics - like life support systems, comm systems, etc. and simulations: combined crew mission simulations, day on the station simulation, survival training.

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Charles Simonyi: Thanks a lot for your questions - I really enjoyed replying, especially the memories that the questions brought back. It was a real pleasure being able to share them with you - thanks Newsweek for arranging this forum.

Best Christmas and Holiday wishes to all,
Charles Simonyi

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