DATE=3/19/98
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-39301
TITLE=RUSSIA / ASTRONAUT
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: AN AMERICAN ASTRONAUT WHO RECENTLY RETURNED FROM
FOUR-AND-ONE-HALF MONTHS ON RUSSIA'S MIR ORBITER LIKENS THE
EXPERIENCE TO A CAMPING TRIP -- HARD WORK, BUT NEVER BORING.
ASTRONAUT DAVID WOLF MADE THE COMMENT IN MOSCOW, WHERE HE IS
TALKING TO FUTURE ASTRONAUTS AND COSMONAUTS ABOUT THE CHALLENGES
OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE COOPERATION. V-O-A'S PETER HEINLEIN
CAUGHT UP WITH ASTRONAUT WOLF DURING A MEETING OF SOME POTENTIAL
ASTRONAUTS IN THE NEXT GENERATION.
TEXT:
/// ACT OF GIRL AND WOLF ///
GIRL: I WANNA BE AN ASTRONAUT WHEN I GROW UP.
WOLF: YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO BE SOMETHING ELSE FIRST, AND
DO A REAL GOOD JOB. YOU KNEW THAT.
/// END ACT ///
THE AMERICAN EMBASSY AUDITORIUM IS BRIMMING WITH WIDE-EYED
CHILDREN. THEY HAVE COME TO SEE AN ASTRONAUT. DAVID WOLF, JUST
BACK FROM 128 DAYS IN SPACE, IS HERE TO TALK ABOUT HIS
EXPERIENCES.
MR. WOLF DOES NOT FIT THE STEREOTYPE OF AN ASTRONAUT. STANDING
IN JEANS AND AN OPEN-NECK SPORTS SHIRT, HE LOOKS MORE LIKE A
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER. ONLY HIS SLIGHTLY GRAYING HAIR GIVES
HIM AWAY.
HE EXPLAINS THAT HE DID NOT AUTOMATICALLY BECOME AN ASTRONAUT.
FIRST HE EARNED A DEGREE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. THEN HE
BECAME A MEDICAL DOCTOR.
BUT HE SAYS THERE IS NOTHING QUITE LIKE THE THRILL OF BEING
BLASTED INTO SPACE.
/// WOLF ACT ///
LAUNCH IS AMAZING. ZERO TO 18-THOUSAND MILES
(28-THOUSAND KILOMETERS) AN HOUR IN 8-AND-ONE-HALF
MINUTES. AND THAT IS MOVING. IT IS LIKE BEING ON A
FOOTBALL BEING PUNTED (KICKED) INTO ORBIT. YOU ARE
REALLY OUT OF TOWN IN A HURRY.
/// END ACT ///
ASTRONAUT WOLF SAYS HE BELIEVES THE MIR ORBITER IS FUNDAMENTALLY
SAFE. BUT HE EXPRESSES AMAZEMENT AT THE SKILLS HIS RUSSIAN
COLLEAGUES DISPLAY IN KEEPING THE 12-YEAR-OLD SPACE STATION
RUNNING, DESPITE A HOST OF OBSTACLES.
/// 2ND WOLF ACT ///
WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE IN SPACE? IT WAS REALLY HARD. WE
WORKED FROM NINE A-M TO MIDNIGHT EVERY SINGLE DAY. AND
I CAN ASSURE YOU THE COSMONAUTS, IN THIS CASE ANATOLY
SOLOVYOV AND PAVEL VINOGRADOV, ARE JUST UNBELIEVABLY
GOOD COSMONAUTS, INCREDIBLY TALENTED. I DIDN'T
UNDERSTAND JUST HOW MUCH OF A SPACE STATION COULD BE
TAKEN APART FROM THE INSIDE. THERE WERE WIRES
EVERYWHERE, AND BOXES, AND TUBES, AND DRILLS GOING. AND
THEN A FEW HOURS LATER, THEY'D HAVE THIS PLACE PUT BACK
TOGETHER. IT WAS JUST AMAZING.
/// END ACT ///
/// OPT /// ASTRONAUT WOLF SAYS HIS STAY ON MIR TAUGHT HIM ABOUT
THE HUGE CULTURAL AND LANGUAGE GAPS BETWEEN RUSSIANS AND
AMERICANS. DURING HIS VISIT TO MOSCOW, HE IS SPENDING TIME WITH
FUTURE ASTRONAUTS AND COSMONAUTS, TRYING TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND
HOW CULTURAL CLASHES CAN CREATE UNNECESSARY STRESS DURING LONG
STAYS IN SPACE.
/// OPT // 3RD WOLF ACT ///
WHEN AN AMERICAN DOES A PIECE OF HIS EXPECTED DUTY, A
ROUTINE PIECE OF WORK, A COMMANDER WILL SAY "THANK YOU,"
AND THAT SAYS TO THE PERSON HE DID A NORMAL JOB. IT'S
NOT A RUSSIAN HABIT TO SAY "THANK YOU" WHEN YOU DO AN
EXPECTED PIECE OF WORK. TO AN AMERICAN, YOU RECEIVE
THAT AS "YOU DIDN'T DO A GOOD JOB." THE RUSSIAN IS IN
NO WAY SENDING THAT MESSAGE. HE IS PERFECTLY HAPPY
WITH YOUR JOB. SO THIS CAN BUILD ON A PERSON, THINKING
HE CAN NEVER DO A GOOD ENOUGH JOB. AND IT CAN LEAD TO
ALL KINDS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS, DIFFICULTIES.
THAT'S A LESSON. I'VE TOLD THAT TO THE NEXT CREW. I'VE
TOLD THAT TO THE RUSSIANS WHO'LL BE WORKING WITH OUR
CREW, SAYING "YOU NEED TO SAY 'THANK YOU' EVEN WHEN WE
DO WHAT YOU EXPECTED US TO DO, BECAUSE AN AMERICAN
THINKS HE DID BAD IF YOU DON'T SAY THAT." THIS
SURPRISED THEM.
/// END ACT // END OPT ///
MR. WOLF SAYS HE SUPPORTS THE U-S DECISION NOT TO SEND A
REPLACEMENT WHEN ASTRONAUT ANDREW THOMAS LEAVES MIR IN A COUPLE
MONTHS. HE SAYS IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON TO MORE ADVANCED PROJECTS,
LIKE THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ALPHA, DUE FOR LAUNCH WITHIN
THE NEXT YEAR.
AND THAT, HE SAYS, IS WHERE THE FUTURE GENERATION COMES IN. HE
RECALLS HOW HE BECAME INTERESTED IN SPACE EXPLORATION WHEN HE
WATCHED AMERICAN ASTRONAUT EDWARD WHITE'S SPACEWALK IN 1965.
/// 4TH WOLF ACT ///
WHEN I WAS NINE-YEARS OLD, I SAW ED WHITE DO THE FIRST
SPACEWALK FROM THE GEMINI CAPSULE. I SAW THAT ON TV,
AND LIKE KIDS THESE DAYS, NOTHING ENERGIZES THEM LIKE,
ENERGIZED ME LIKE WHEN I SAW THAT, AND IT WAS PROBABLY
RESPONSIBLE FOR ME DOING ANYTHING I DID RIGHT.
/// END ACT ///
AFTER HIS SPEECH, THE ASTRONAUT SITS DOWN ON THE EDGE OF THE
STAGE AND INVITES THE CHILDREN TO COME UP. AS HE SIGNS
AUTOGRAPHS, HE FINDS HIMSELF OVERWHELMED WITH QUESTIONS. HE TAKES
TIME TO ANSWER EVERY ONE.
/// WOLF AND KIDS ACT ///
BOY: DO YOU HAVE TO BE A PERSON THAT GOES UNDER WATER?
CAUSE UNDER WATER YOU FLOAT?
WOLF: THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IMPORTANT, SURE
GIRL: DO YOU HAVE TO TRAIN WITH WEIRD MACHINES THAT
SPIN YOU AROUND OR SOMETHING?
WOLF: NOT TOO MUCH. NOT AS MUCH AS THEY USED TO.
BOY: DO YOU GET DIZZY?
WOLF: A LITTLE BIT.
/// END ACT ///
AS HE WRAPS UP HIS CONVERSATION WITH THE CHILDREN, ASTRONAUT WOLF
SAYS HE HOPES HE WILL BE CHOSEN FOR A MISSION ABOARD THE SPACE
STATION ALPHA. BUT THE REAL FUTURE, HE SAYS, IS WITH THE NEXT
GENERATION. HE REMINDS THEM TO STUDY HARD, SAYING, "WE'RE
DEPENDING ON YOU." (SIGNED)
NEB/PFH/JWH
19-Mar-98 10:55 AM EST (1555 UTC)
NNNN
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