THE pilot who flew the Discovery space shuttle for the final time has been speaking about his experiences.
 
NASA astronaut Eric Boe visited the Isle of Man earlier this week alongside four other astronauts who were part of the STS-133 mission.

Speaking about the trip Eric said: "It's been amazing. The people here are so friendly. There are a lot of neat things here that I had no idea of. The history here is incredible and we were really honoured to get the opportunity to get to participate in Tynwald Day and to see how it all operates."
 
Eric was selected as a pilot for NASA in 2000. Before this he had clocked up more than 5,000 flight hours in more than 45 different aircraft after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in 1987.
 
Since his selection Eric has been into space twice. He spent 16 days on the STS-126 Endeavour mission in 2008 and 13 days on the STS-133 Discovery mission in February this year.
 
isleofman.com reporter Tessa Hawley spoke to Eric about his experiences:

Do people ask you a lot of questions when they find out you are an astronaut?
"When you talk to kids they ask very similar questions no matter what part of the world you are in. I think the most common is how do you go to the toilet? It's not a bad question – people want to know how you operate in space. How do you eat in space? and how do you sleep in space? are very common questions and they are good things to know." 
 
Are these things you can only learn from being in space?
"A lot of people have heard of the Vomit Comet which is an aeroplane that we can push over to give you zero gravity but I've only done that once. Some people think we go and train and do lots of that but we really don't because you don't get enough time - you only get about 30-40 seconds at a time.
 
"Space is one of those things where you can ask 10 people 'how do you operate in space?' – but it's kind of like asking how you climb the steps – some people do it two at a time, some people use the handrail, some don't. You could ask 10 people but it's just something you have to get up there and deal with. You've got to be able to adapt real time. Everyone's going to have a different experience and a different way of doing things." 
 
Let's talk about operating in space. Do you sleep well in space for example?
"Some people do and some people don't. Sleeping is, for me, actually fairly easy. One of the interesting things about space is that you go 17,500 miles per hour. You go around the planet once every 90 minutes so you get 16 sunrises and sunsets every day - so you can't use the sun as your gauge for what time it is.
 
"In space you're kind of like on a big camping trip so if you're up, you're keeping other people up near you. If you're awake in space and floating in your sleeping bag you may as well be sleeping!" 
 
You piloted the 39th and final mission of the Discovery space shuttle. As it was the final mission did it make it more meaningful to you?
"Definitely. When you fly a job it's going to be more personally meaningful to you. It's obviously a very special mission – not only for us but for all the people who worked on Discovery and the whole shuttle fleet.
 
"It's the end of an era and it's a time to reflect on the great accomplishments of the space shuttle. It will be remembered as an extremely capable vehicle that really changed space flight.
 
"Discovery is the most flown space shuttle in history. It's done more time in space than any others. Most vehicles go into space and are never used again but Discovery was used 39 times and flew 365 days in space. It's a pretty impressive record and it will be remembered." 
 
You have been into space twice now. Do you get apprehensive or nervous before you launch? 
"I don't really worry about it at all. As a pilot I've done a lot of flying and a lot of training. I'd say probably the biggest thing you get apprehensive about is that you want to do a good job.
 
"You're part of the puzzle and you want to make sure that you do your piece. You don't want to be the person that is the limiting factor - you want to be the person making it happen. If you're apprehensive it's that you're going to be the one that holds up the team. You know that's the one thing you can control - you. Everything else you're kind of along for the ride. I would say most astronauts if they worry about anything, worry that they want to do a good job."
 
Do you have a favourite part of the experience of going to space?
"As a pilot I like all things that are to do with flying. I really love the launch – those eight and a half minutes. And coming in and landing, we call it entry, is amazing. You take a vehicle that's going 17,500 miles per hour and you slow it down to zero in an hour. You can actually see the heat in the air coming over the windows and it looks like a barbecue grill and you realise it’s extremely hot outside!
 
"You've got to make the landing work the first time. The pressures on but we do a lot of training so we're ready for it but it's definitely, from a pilot's perspective, one of the best parts of the mission."

 
During your time in the Isle of Man you spoke to secondary school pupils about your experiences in space. Is this something you enjoy doing? 
"It's probably one of my favourite things to do as an astronaut. To me the lessons about being an astronaut are the same as any job. The key is find that job that you're passionate about, something you really enjoy in your life, and go pursue it because you only get that one chance in life. You don't want to look back and go 'I really wanted to do that but I did this instead'." 
  
Are there any plans in place for you to go back to space in the near future?
"It's kind of indeterminate. One of the things about being an astronaut is patience.
 
"All of us that are here (in the Isle of Man) are all from the same astronaut class. We all joined in 2000 and then we had an accident, the Columbia crash in 2003, so our whole office of astronauts didn't fly for three years. We were astronauts for seven or eight years before we even flew our first time.
 
"Most of us have been fairly lucky and have flown two times - some have even flown three times. Just to get the opportunity to do it once is extremely great and I've been fortunate to do it twice. I'd love to do it again but if I never do I'll be very happy I got the opportunity." 
 
Can you sum up your experience of being in space in three words?
"Can I use one? I would just say awesome. 
 
"It's an overused word but it's just an unbelievable experience. Most of the time you are just in amazement that - one we have the ability to do things like this – that we can get off the planet - and two - when you think of the number of people that are involved, all the different countries, languages and experience, and your jaw drops when you think of how impressive it is. For me awesome is the word."