Thirteen other cosmonauts and astronauts would arrive and depart as he and Kornienko remained, each handling his separate duties in their respective modules. He peed on the right rear tire of his launchpad bus before entering his capsule, and every cosmonaut and astronaut has since done the same for good luck (women bring along a bottle of urine to splash onto the tire). Sure to mention the camaraderie between the men, Kelly details some of the astronauts’ rituals, including one that follows on from Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who, in 1961, became the first human to journey into space. Along with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, Kelly was part of a study that hoped to glean information about the long-term effects of space isolation on the body and mind. This time, however, it would be an entire year with personal quarters on the station that were no larger than an old-fashioned phone booth. This experience qualified him for a repeat performance. At the time, the shuttles were decommissioned, and he was flying on a Russian Soyuz. Although his dream had been to pilot the space shuttle, he reluctantly agreed to remain on the station for a duration of six months in 2010–2011. Within four years, Kelly was aboard the space shuttle Discovery. In 1995, he filled out a NASA application and was accepted into the biggest astronaut class in NASA’s history, which numbered forty-four in all, including his twin brother, Mark. Within a few years, Kelly was a naval aviator flying off aircraft carriers and soon became a test pilot. They were forced to traverse 850 miles of sea on small lifeboats. During this trek, Shackleton’s crew barely escaped with their lives after their ship became ensnared in polar pack ice. Another inspiration Kelly notes, after which his book was named, is Endurance by Alfred Lansing, which tells of Ernest Shackleton’s expedition to the South Pole. Kelly gradually altered course with his classes and changed to a military-oriented school. He was instantaneously drawn to the book’s young superstar hotshots, who catapulted off aircraft carriers, tested unstable planes, and drank hard. Then, Kelly read The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe’s nonfiction classic describing the exciting dangers of spaceflight. As a somewhat unfocused college student, he was more interested in partying than in sitting in the classroom. He graduated from a New Jersey high school in the bottom half of his class. He opens the book speaking about the early motivations that shaped his unique career path. The narrative is split between Kelly’s personal journey from an inspired child to a decorated naval test pilot and his year in space, a zero-gravity voyage of unparalleled duration. Finally, Kelly makes clear that Mars is humanity’s next frontier of spaceflight. His book also details the intense challenges of long-term spaceflight, as well as the devastating physical and psychological effects of prolonged time in space. Taking us back to his New Jersey childhood, Kelly tells of the youthful inspiration that set him on the path of his astounding career. Having undergone four spaceflights and become the American record holder for the most consecutive days spent in space, Kelly has experienced extreme circumstances. Endurance: My Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery (2017) is Scott Kelly’s personal memoir recounting his record-breaking year aboard the International Space Station.
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