Assume that you are interviewing
Sunita Williams. Preapare a
questionaire and also the answers
Answers
Answer:
Q. Did you always know you wanted to be an astronaut?
A. No, not at all, as a matter of fact. That’s an interesting question because there are some people in our Astronaut Office who knew from the very beginning they wanted to be astronauts. Not me. It wasn’t really until later on, when I was established in my career. In my mid-20s, when I was a test pilot, I had the opportunity to go to Johnson Space Center and meet (astronaut) John Young and understand that he landed on the moon in some type of vertical apparatus – and I was a helicopter pilot, so it seemed like it might fit. Then, I started looking at what I needed to do to become an astronaut.
Q. What did you want to be when you were little?
A. I wanted to be a veterinarian. My dad was a doctor. He’s retired now. He did a lot of research and I got to go to the lab with him when I was young, on Saturdays, and check out the monkeys. We had dogs and I did a little bit of horseback riding and I was just an animal lover. I still am. So, of course, I thought, “I want to be a vet,” and that’s what I grew up thinking that was for sure what I wanted to do. But I didn’t really get into some of my first-choice colleges.
Q. That’s exactly what I was going to ask you about. Based on what you’ve said, it sounds like you had a lot of disappointments and a lot of plans that didn’t work out. Did you have something at the time that helped you get through those disappointments and helped you persevere even though you had to change directions several times?
A. Oh, yes. I would think the major influence in my life was, of course, my parents and my siblings, who were all very supportive. They just sort of laughed it off a little bit, like, “Oh, don’t worry about it, you’ll find something that you like to do,” and, you know, “What’s the next cool option out there?” They would always bring me back to earth by saying, “Well, what are your options?” And I’d say, “Oh, I have to fly helicopters” (groans). And they’d say, “What? Are you kidding me? That’s awesome!” Your friends and family around you probably know you a little better sometimes than you know yourself. They were a big support structure and I found that to be true flying in space, too. The support of your family and friends is really important.
Q. I can’t believe all the records that you’ve set, starting with your Navy career. You’ve set records as an astronaut and as a female astronaut.
A. Let me mention one thing about records. Records are for breaking. They are just little beacons out there that somebody else will want to do and they are measures of the accomplishments that we’ve made so far. I don’t think too much about them because I was also just in the right place at the right time.
Q. What are you doing now and what’s next on the horizon for you?
A. I am going to be staying in the Astronaut Office for a while to help the new guys who are getting ready to fly. We have a new group of astronauts that are just starting to be assigned to the International Space Station. There’s a lot involved with that – learning Russian, learning the Russian spacecraft, our international partner’s spacecraft – so I am going to be helping them for a little while. I’d love to fly again, but we’ll see what happens with that. I’d love to be involved with the next vehicle that is going to take us to low-earth orbit and beyond, maybe back to the Moon …
Q. Can you talk a little bit about girls in careers such as the military and the astronaut program?
A. It seems like, at the Astronaut Office and at Johnson and NASA, there are a little bit more women than there were in my earlier days in the military. But, you know what? I didn’t really think twice about that, and I think that’s the approach that most ladies should go into it with. You just have to get in there and be as proficient as the guys around you and don’t even think twice about it. What I tell kids is, the helicopter didn’t know if I was a girl or a guy. The spacecraft doesn’t know. The spacesuit doesn’t know. You just have to get in there and make (the vehicle) do you what you want it to do and then you’ll be fine. Don’t highlight the fact that you’re a girl in a guy-dominated field, and then nobody looks at it in any different way. Just blend in and be a team player, be a leader when you’re called upon to be a leader, and be part of the team.
Explanation: