Yeah, Flying's Great.  It's A Completely Different Sensation.  You Know, You Can Compare Parts Of It

So on the ISS we have a wake-up time.  There's not really any predetermined time because we're orbiting the Earth every ninety minutes.  But you have to pick a time scale, so we actually picked GMT, which is close to London time.

So we wake up, we have a normal conference call with the ground, we talk about things that are going on the space station, what we're going to do that day, and then we have a plan that tells us what we're going to do down to every five minutes on board.  And so it depends on the day.  

A lot of time we're doing science experiments, sometimes we're doing maintenance on the space station, sometimes we're even getting ready to do a space walk.  Those are the best days.  But every day is something new and different up there.

What does a normal day for you consist of?

Oh, for the year to come in 2020, what I'm mostly looking forward to is new opportunities to explore.  That's been one of the most fascinating things in my seven years that I've been a research pilot at NASA is working with different engineering and science teams and learning more and more everyday.

 I feel like - it's just like going to graduate school over and over and learning great new things about the earth's atmosphere and flight research every day.  I just don't have to take written tests or write a thesis or anything like that.  So it's a great way to go to school and learn and explore.

What are you most excited for in 2020?

"Every job that I have had here, I have had to overcome challenges in order to succeed in it. Whether it's somebody telling me I can't be a flight director because I've never been a flight controller.  Or I can't possibly manage a significant amount of budget and personnel because I've never been a low level line manager before.  

And my--the way I live my life is you never know until you try.  And a lot of people that take on these jobs are never fully prepared when they first start.  But as long as you are fully prepared to acknowledge where you fall short and willing to go off and seek help from people who are masters in those areas, then you will succeed."

What challenges have you overcame to get to the job that you have now? Love from Ireland ❤️

I remember my first day on console as the first non-astronaut CapCom, and the very first time the crew called down. I was getting ready to key my mike and speak back up and they asked me a question, and I looked at the Flight Director beside me, he gave me a go, and I answered.  And there was a pause.  

And it was Frank Culbertson, and he called down and he was like, "Ginger!  Is it really you? Oh my gosh, it's so awesome to hear your voice!"  

So that kind of eased my tension.  The reality was the first set of crews that I wound up working with I had trained alongside for four years.  SO it was a treat to be able to be in a position where I could talk to my friends.  But I understood what they'd gone through, I understood Mission Control, and I could be their advocate in Mission Control.  And I could tell from day one that they trusted me and they were happy that I was there.

How did the crews react to you being the first non-astronaut CapCom? I understand it was quite an important thing to people that the CapCom could empathise with their experiences.

I would say my favorite part of the job is not really what you'd think.  You'd think it's maybe strapping in an airplane and going up and flying - and that's a wonderful opportunity, and I love it absolutely - but really the greatest thing at NASA, and I think most people would agree, is working with the people that we have here.  

Because the people that come together with an eagerness to explore and to experiment with things and discover new opportunities and things like that - working side by side with those people is what really gets your heart pumping and makes you excited to come to work each day.  So that's what I'd say is my favorite part of the job.

What’s your favorite part of the job?

“Black holes are just...pure gravity.”

Whats the best metaphor/ explanation of blackholes youve ever heard?

So a lot of the research that we do on board the International Space Station has a relationship to an Earth-based disease.  For example, we worry about bone loss; that's got a relationship to things like osteoporosis on the ground.  All of the things we need to do to keep the human body healthy in a confined environment in the long term we're learning about on the International Space Station.

The things that we do on our six-month missions would build into year-long missions, would build into even longer term missions, for example going to Mars.  So we need to know about things like radiation and the effect on the human body, bone loss, how people are going to be able to work and live together in a confined isolated system for so long.  How we're going to get enough nutrition and getting the right balance of nutrients in a really long duration mission.  And then also, how are we going to keep people healthy?  What kinds of medicines can survive that long in space and how do you treat any illness or injury that occurs?  

So all of these things are actively being researched on board the International Space Station and a lot of them have a component to human health on Earth as well.

How could your research in diseases help missions to the Moon, Mars and other places in our solar system?

Mission Control is a unique environment.  The people who work there are the cream of the crop.  The tops in their graduating classes, the high performers in industry.  And so working in Mission control, my favorite thing is that I get to work with such uniquely talented people, and of all ages.  So it's a place where we can all come together, everybody with their own skill set, and solve the day's problems.

What was your favorite thing about working in Mission Control? (Also, you are the best

Hi, I'm Dean Neeley.  I go by "Gucci".  I"m the deputy chief pilot at Armstrong Flight Research Center.  And I'm excited to be here and answer some questions to everybody who's calling in through tumblr here.  This is a great opportunity to share with you.

It’s kick-off time! Pilot Dean “Gucci” Neeley is reporting for duty with answers to your questions in today’s Tumblr Answer Time!

So one of the things I didn't know about being an astronaut was all of the different kinds of skills we need to learn.  You come in and you're kind of a baby astronaut trainee, and they teach you things about like how to fix the electrical system and the plumbing on the space station.  You need to learn how to train in dangerous environments.  We learn how to fly airplanes.  We learn how to do spacewalks underwater.  

So one of the most surprising things was just the variety of skills we need in order to be successful expedition pioneers on board the space station.

What's something you didn't know about being an astronaut before you actually became one? Do you have any words of advice for young astronauts?