Astronaut: Practice makes perfect for overcoming fears in space (and on Earth)
Nov 11, 2013, 12:36 PM | Updated: Nov 12, 2013, 12:39 pm
Astronaut Chris Hatfield has dealt with the fear and danger of traveling in space, and said the danger he faces is not a lot different than facing the fears and dangers that accompany life down here, on Earth. (AP Photo/File)
(AP Photo/File)
Being in space can be like being in a movie – or at least a recent movie about space seems to capture the magic, and the danger according to a real-life astronaut visiting Seattle Tuesday.
Astronaut Chris Hatfield has dealt with the fear and danger of traveling in space, and said the danger he faces is not a lot different than facing the fears and dangers that accompany life down here, on Earth.
“What you want to do is figure out what you’re actually afraid of and then understand, whether it’s spaceships or meteorites, or spiders – and find out what the true risk to you is. Which part of it is truly the risk, and dig way into it,” Hatfield told the Morning News on KIRO Radio.
To overcome our fears, Hatfield said the key is to simulate it and practice it as realistically as possible, as many times as you can. “Until you can deal with it. Until you can be able to not let it paralyze you.”
On a spaceship they’ve done it in such detail that it enables the astronauts to live in comfort while in orbit. If something were to happen, like in the film “Gravity,” perhaps a hole in the spaceship, or a fire on board, they know the drills.
“We know what are the odds. We know the things we have to do. We know how to optimize our chances for staying alive and how to save the spaceship,” said Hatfield. “As a result, it sounds like you’d feel kind of negative, but instead it gives you comfort.”
Without complete control, the astronauts aren’t relying on gut instinct alone, they know the plan.
“It’s good to have (knowledge about what happens in space) in the back of your mind and then be able to fuse that with what they show in something like ‘Gravity,'” he said. “I’ve been outside on these spacewalks and the fantastic colors and textures they have in the universe, like a bottomless black bucket all around you. It’s an amazing view. It’s worth the ride.”
Chris Hatfield will be at Town Hall Seattle Tuesday night. The event is sold out but stand-by tickets will be available starting at 7:15 p.m.
