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<v Speaker 1>We have a very special treat. We'd like to say

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<v Speaker 1>good morning to NASA astronaut and Space Force Guardian Colonel

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<v Speaker 1>Nick Haig, the first Space Force Guardian ever on the

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<v Speaker 1>International Space Station, the commander of the Crew nine mission,

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<v Speaker 1>Colonel Haig, I'm guessing you hear this a lot, but

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<v Speaker 1>welcome home.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks, Ami, it's great to be with you this morning.

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<v Speaker 1>So, you spent one hundred and seventy one days in space,

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<v Speaker 1>you did a space walk, you had a successful splashdown.

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<v Speaker 1>Obviously back down on Earth along with Alex and of

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<v Speaker 1>course Sonny Williams and Butch Willmore. It's been an exciting

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<v Speaker 1>six months. How are you and everybody doing?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, it's hard to believe the six months

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<v Speaker 2>goes by really fast, and you know we're back on

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<v Speaker 2>the ground and just over three weeks back in gravity

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<v Speaker 2>and adjusting and everything's going pretty good.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, So I want to ask you about that gravity

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<v Speaker 1>because we saw you when the capsules splashed down and

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<v Speaker 1>saw you come out of the capsule with a pretty

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<v Speaker 1>big smile on your face. Can you tell us what

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<v Speaker 1>you were feeling at that moment and what it feels

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<v Speaker 1>like to go from weightlessness to full on gravity.

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<v Speaker 3>Gravity in a matter of minutes.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, the smile coming out of the capsule

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<v Speaker 2>is just the thrill of you've just re entered. You've

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<v Speaker 2>gone from seventeen five hundred miles an hour down to zero.

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<v Speaker 2>And we do that by writing in the center of

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<v Speaker 2>essentially a fireball. And then you know, the adrenaline rush

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<v Speaker 2>from that experience, and then watching your parachutes open and

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<v Speaker 2>landing safely, you're just ecstatic to be home. And so

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<v Speaker 2>there's a lot of that going on. But then you're

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<v Speaker 2>also starting to realize, hey, you know, gravity is real,

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<v Speaker 2>and I've been able to ignore it for the last

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<v Speaker 2>six months. You're strong, you know, you can stand up,

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<v Speaker 2>you can carry your own weight, but your sense of

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<v Speaker 2>balance is really not there. And so that's why they

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<v Speaker 2>pull us out. They put us on a gurney, They

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<v Speaker 2>wheel us around. You know, for the first day or so,

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<v Speaker 2>somebody is there making sure that when we're walking we

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<v Speaker 2>don't we don't stumble. But after a few days the

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<v Speaker 2>body snaps back. It is just truly amazing how adaptable

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<v Speaker 2>our bodies are.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so when you say that that it's hard because

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<v Speaker 1>your balance is off, do you have sort of like

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<v Speaker 1>a vertigo feeling, or just you're just not used to

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<v Speaker 1>having to balance.

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<v Speaker 2>You just not you haven't used that part of your brain,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, your inner ear you've kind of ignored for

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<v Speaker 2>the last six months while you've been in space. And

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<v Speaker 2>then when you get down on the ground, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>if I stand up and close my eyes, my mind

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<v Speaker 2>really doesn't know how to figure out which ways up

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<v Speaker 2>and which ways down, and so you get a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit off balance, and then gravity takes over. So you've

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<v Speaker 2>just got to be really careful. And but it, like

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<v Speaker 2>I said, it's amazing because you know, I'll take a nap,

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<v Speaker 2>wake up, and there's there's this just huge increase in

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<v Speaker 2>the amounts that my body has already adapted. And so

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<v Speaker 2>over the course of twenty four hours, you're you know,

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<v Speaker 2>you're pretty close to having your balance back. Even within

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<v Speaker 2>the first six hours or so, you go from needing

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<v Speaker 2>somebody to hold your arm everywhere you go to being

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<v Speaker 2>able to walk on your own, okay.

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<v Speaker 1>And then I was trying to figure out what that

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<v Speaker 1>might feel like, you know, like we were talking about

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<v Speaker 1>going from no gravity to having full gravity and having

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<v Speaker 1>to deal with that, and I was I was like,

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<v Speaker 1>would it be sort of like when they put those

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<v Speaker 1>weighted vests on you when you get X rays at

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<v Speaker 1>the dentist and then you have to walk around all

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<v Speaker 1>day with one on.

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<v Speaker 3>Does it do you have that heavy feeling or what

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<v Speaker 3>does it feel like?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, when you described it perfectly, it's like

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<v Speaker 2>you're wearing this body suit that adds just this excessive

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<v Speaker 2>amount of weight. Everything feels like it's twenty pounds heavier

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<v Speaker 2>than it should be. And so just lifting your arm

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<v Speaker 2>takes effort, or or moving your head takes effort. Uh,

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<v Speaker 2>And it feels strange because it, you know, for the

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<v Speaker 2>last six months it's taken no effort, and then slowly,

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<v Speaker 2>over the course of a couple of days, Uh, that

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<v Speaker 2>just becomes your new normal. And you know, I've been

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<v Speaker 2>back just over three weeks, and you know, after I

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<v Speaker 2>get off the off the call with you, I'm going

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<v Speaker 2>to go over and continue with my reconditioning and my

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<v Speaker 2>strength and conditioning coaches are going to have me, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>running and lifting and doing all the things that you

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<v Speaker 2>would expect somebody to be doing, you know, just trying

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<v Speaker 2>to stay in shape. And so we bounce back so fast.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, And when you were up on the space station.

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<v Speaker 1>Weren't you exercising a couple hours a day?

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, at two and a half hours a day every day. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>so you come you come back so much stronger. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>I came back stronger than when I launched because I

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<v Speaker 2>was lifting every day, and so the the big muscles,

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<v Speaker 2>the you know, my skeleton and remains you know strong.

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<v Speaker 2>My big muscles remain strong. The real challenge is all

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<v Speaker 2>of the little muscles that stabilize everything and keep all

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<v Speaker 2>my joints in the right position. Those are a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit you know, those are a little bit atrophied. And

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<v Speaker 2>so we spend a good forty five days after we

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<v Speaker 2>land getting all of those conditions so that my joints

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<v Speaker 2>go back to the right positions that they're supposed to

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<v Speaker 2>be in. And you've got to be really patient because

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<v Speaker 2>you're strong, so I can go and out you know,

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<v Speaker 2>outperform those and end up hurting myself. So's it's a

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<v Speaker 2>very regiment and program interesting.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, And are you taller too? I've heard that some

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<v Speaker 3>astronauts come back taller.

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<v Speaker 2>So I came back taller, and then I lost it all.

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<v Speaker 2>Gravity took it away, so it.

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<v Speaker 1>Was short lived. Okay, I want to go back up

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<v Speaker 1>into space for a second. I want to we'll talk

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<v Speaker 1>in a minute about like what you were doing on

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<v Speaker 1>the space station and stuff, But the whole journey is

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<v Speaker 1>so fascinating to me. We followed when you undocked from

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<v Speaker 1>the space station, when you were finally ready to go home,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's this pretty large lag time between when you

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<v Speaker 1>separate from the station and when you re enter the

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<v Speaker 1>Earth's atmosphere. How long was that and what do you

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<v Speaker 1>do during that time?

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<v Speaker 2>So it was seventeen hours for us. It varies depending.

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<v Speaker 2>The reason there's that delay is you're waiting essentially for

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<v Speaker 2>the alignment of your orbit and the position of your

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<v Speaker 2>capsule to line up with your target for your splash down,

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<v Speaker 2>and depending on where the station is when you undock,

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<v Speaker 2>that could change anywhere from seven hours to forty hours,

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<v Speaker 2>and that's just orbital dynamics, and so what do you

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<v Speaker 2>do during that time. We had a fairly long day

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<v Speaker 2>prior to undocking, and so as soon as we undocked,

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<v Speaker 2>we got our suits off and got into some comfortable

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<v Speaker 2>clothes and we all went to bed, and so we

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<v Speaker 2>slept the solid eight hours and then we got up

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<v Speaker 2>and we still had a lot of time, and so

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<v Speaker 2>we did what you might expect a crew coming home

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<v Speaker 2>from space would do. We were glued to the windows,

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<v Speaker 2>looking out, enjoying, you know, the last views we have,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, for the foreseeable future of the you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the night sky and all the stars and galaxies and

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<v Speaker 2>looking down on the Earth during the daytime and just

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<v Speaker 2>trying to soak it in as much as we could.

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<v Speaker 3>That's so great.

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<v Speaker 1>And then for the re entry again we're talking to

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<v Speaker 1>Space Force Guardian Colonel Nick Haig, who just returned from

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<v Speaker 1>the International Space Station. For the re entry, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>it's got to be nerve wracking because you're still going

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of miles an hour, and then when you do

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<v Speaker 1>the entry, you're super heated. You're basically, like you said,

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<v Speaker 1>a big fireball. Like, what does that feel like?

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<v Speaker 3>Do you guys?

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<v Speaker 1>Are you guys talking and joking during that time or

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<v Speaker 1>are you just kind of holding on? I mean, what

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<v Speaker 1>do you do during that time? And what does it

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<v Speaker 1>feel like?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so, you know, the first when you're in the

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<v Speaker 2>space station, you're you're, you know, four hundred kilometers two

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<v Speaker 2>hundred and fifty miles above the surface of the Earth,

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<v Speaker 2>and so as the Earth goes by below, Because I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>you're really traveling over the Earth, but you see it

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<v Speaker 2>as the Earth going by below. You don't really realize

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<v Speaker 2>what five miles a second means in terms of speed.

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<v Speaker 2>But once you start to descend lower, we really don't

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<v Speaker 2>slow down until we start to get into the thick

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<v Speaker 2>part of the atmosphere, or a thicker part of the atmosphere.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's four hundred kilometers down to about eighty kilometers.

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<v Speaker 2>At that point, all those clouds that look really small

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<v Speaker 2>start to look really big and they are screaming by

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<v Speaker 2>the windows, and so you get this sense of we

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<v Speaker 2>are going really fast. And then the air starts to

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<v Speaker 2>impact our heat shield and that drag builds up and

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<v Speaker 2>you can kind of feel the rumble, the vibration. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>we've spent the time leading up to this kind of

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<v Speaker 2>turning the air conditioner on, if you will, to max

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<v Speaker 2>to try to get it as cool as we can inside,

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<v Speaker 2>because that that aerodynamic heat, that that friction from all

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<v Speaker 2>that drag is going to start to heat up all

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<v Speaker 2>the atmosphere around the capsule, heat up our each shield,

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<v Speaker 2>and essentially it creates a fireball around us. That's about

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<v Speaker 2>three thousand degrees and and we're in the center of that,

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<v Speaker 2>in the calm, the eye of the storm, and you

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<v Speaker 2>what we feel is essentially just G. So we get

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<v Speaker 2>squashed into our seat and it goes from six months

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<v Speaker 2>of not feeling anything and floating to all of a sudden,

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<v Speaker 2>the G meter reads point zero one g's or point

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<v Speaker 2>zero two. By the time it gets too point one

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<v Speaker 2>one tenth of the gravity everybody feels every day. It

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<v Speaker 2>feels like somebody's sitting on you because you just haven't

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<v Speaker 2>been used to feeling it, and you know, it's it's

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<v Speaker 2>surprising that you know, the first half a G, it's

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<v Speaker 2>like a man, I don't know if I'm going to

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<v Speaker 2>be able to handle this. And then your body kind

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<v Speaker 2>of gets used to it. And then by the time

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<v Speaker 2>we reach our maximum G, which is just under five g's,

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<v Speaker 2>you you're kind of comfortable. So I'm you know, looking

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<v Speaker 2>at the displays, I'm talking the crew through everything that's

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<v Speaker 2>going on, where we're at, what what to prepare for next,

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<v Speaker 2>getting ready for shoots to deploy, and so it's a

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<v Speaker 2>it's kind of a normal conversation. Uh, and you just

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<v Speaker 2>you know, you just get you get used to having

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<v Speaker 2>hav An Earth squashy.

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<v Speaker 3>A little bit another day at the office.

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<v Speaker 2>It sounds like, indeed, you know, it's like having a

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<v Speaker 2>conversation why while you're writing a roller coaster.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, okay, nice, that's a great analogy.

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<v Speaker 1>We are joined on wake up call this morning by

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<v Speaker 1>NASA astronaut and Space Force Guardian Colonel Nick Haigh. He's

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<v Speaker 1>the first Space Force Guardian ever on the International Space

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<v Speaker 1>Station and also the commander of the Crew nine mission.

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<v Speaker 1>Colonel Haig, thanks again for joining us. We so appreciate

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<v Speaker 1>you spending some time with us this morning.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, it's it's fun to share the experience.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I know that last time we talked to you,

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<v Speaker 1>Colonel Haig, we were well, I was kind of jumping

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<v Speaker 1>out of my skin thrilled we got to talk to

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<v Speaker 1>you live on the International Space Station. And that was

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<v Speaker 1>back that was about six months ago. It was pretty

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<v Speaker 1>early in your mission since you had gotten there, and

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<v Speaker 1>so we wanted to kind of check in and see

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<v Speaker 1>what it was like for the last six months. So

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<v Speaker 1>I know that one of the things that you guys

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<v Speaker 1>do is you do a lot of experiments. Are there

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<v Speaker 1>some of the experiments that you can tell us about that.

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<v Speaker 1>We're kind of notable to you.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Absolutely. You know, the reason we're up there on

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<v Speaker 2>the space station, the International Space Station to begin with,

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<v Speaker 2>is to conduct science experiments. You know, I talked about

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<v Speaker 2>all the things that being in weightlessness does to my body.

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<v Speaker 2>It does those same things to all of our experiments,

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<v Speaker 2>and it helps us learn a little bit more, a

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<v Speaker 2>little bit deeper about everything. And so there we in

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<v Speaker 2>the course of six months, I was part of one

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<v Speaker 2>hundred and fifty ke plus different types of experiment and

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<v Speaker 2>it's it's everything from looking at at our bodies. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>how being weightless affects my immune system, how it affects

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<v Speaker 2>my age of my vascular system. Uh, you know, being

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<v Speaker 2>in weightlessness can cause my arteries to accelerate in their

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<v Speaker 2>aging or mimic what it's like to have accelerated aging.

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<v Speaker 2>And so we we research what those what those changes are,

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<v Speaker 2>and then by better understanding those we can we can

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<v Speaker 2>help inform medicine on the ground for for people that

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<v Speaker 2>are experiencing aging of their vascular system or have you know,

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<v Speaker 2>suppressed immune systems. So that's a couple of examples, but

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<v Speaker 2>it spans the whole game. I grew lots of things

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<v Speaker 2>up there because we're trying to figure out how do

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<v Speaker 2>we sustain crews when we send them on missions beyond

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<v Speaker 2>Earth orbit? How do we grow the food that we're

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<v Speaker 2>going to need to take because we can't resupply them

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<v Speaker 2>all the time. So it's it's it's just a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of fun to be up there in the middle of

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<v Speaker 2>it all if you enjoy a if you're a curious person,

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<v Speaker 2>it's an amazing job.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, and Colonel Hay were the experience that you did,

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<v Speaker 1>were those form NASA only or for they were they

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<v Speaker 1>also for Space Force because again there's this this symbiotic

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<v Speaker 1>relationship between the two. Even though NASA is a civilian organization,

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<v Speaker 1>of course Space Force is a military organization.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and so you know, I'm a Space Force guardian

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<v Speaker 2>and and my job is to work for NASA conducting

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<v Speaker 2>the civil space mission, not the not the the you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the National Security Space mission. And it is a symbiotic relationship.

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<v Speaker 2>And so you know, I'd be remiss if I didn't

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<v Speaker 2>thank all of my fellow guardians that are stationed around

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<v Speaker 2>the globe that that provided all those essential things like

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<v Speaker 2>you know, keeping us clear of debris, up there and

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<v Speaker 2>helping us move the station to get out of the way,

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<v Speaker 2>or helping us launch and land. You know, they do

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<v Speaker 2>some fundamental things that make it possible for us to

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<v Speaker 2>even go up there and do those science experiments and there.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, it's just phenomenal to be associated with that

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<v Speaker 2>team and to be a representative of the Space Force.

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<v Speaker 2>But yeah, those experiments up there. It's an international space station,

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<v Speaker 2>and so I'm conducting experiments across you know, for for

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<v Speaker 2>universities across the nation, you know, the United States, but

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<v Speaker 2>I'm also conducting them for other governments, you know, whether

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<v Speaker 2>it's Japan or the European Space Agency and all of

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<v Speaker 2>the countries associated with that. It's a little you know, agnostic.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't necessarily care where the research is coming from,

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<v Speaker 2>because in principle, we're sharing that information with everyone, and

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<v Speaker 2>so the discoveries on the space station come back and

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<v Speaker 2>benefit the whole world.

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<v Speaker 3>Good to see that we all get along in space.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, So when we talk to you when you're on

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<v Speaker 1>the space station, no space walks had been done.

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<v Speaker 3>But as it turns out, you got to one. How

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<v Speaker 3>long was that and what did you do? And what

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<v Speaker 3>was it like?

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<v Speaker 2>You know, a spacewalk is effectively eleven hours in a spacesuit.

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<v Speaker 2>It takes a while to put it on, and then

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<v Speaker 2>once you're in it, before you even step out of

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<v Speaker 2>the space station, you have to purge all of the

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<v Speaker 2>nitrogen that's naturally in your body because you go down

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<v Speaker 2>to a lower pressure when you start to work outside

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<v Speaker 2>in the vacuum of space. So after about four hours,

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<v Speaker 2>then we go out the hatch and you know, from

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<v Speaker 2>a thrill perspective, you open the hatch and you look

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<v Speaker 2>down and two hundred and fifty miles below there's the

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<v Speaker 2>Earth kind of just gliding by, and you can see

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<v Speaker 2>snow covered mountaintops and fan dunes and oceans and it's

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<v Speaker 2>just spectacular. You know, it's an office. It's the best

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<v Speaker 2>view you could have at work. And you go out

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<v Speaker 2>and you're you know, at some point the just kind

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<v Speaker 2>of melts away and you're just working outside with your

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<v Speaker 2>with your coworker. You know, Sonny was out there with

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<v Speaker 2>me and uh and uh we got to work. We

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<v Speaker 2>we were working on repairing a couple of things.

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<v Speaker 3>Uh.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, the station is old, it's been up there

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<v Speaker 2>for two and a half decades.

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<v Speaker 1>Uh, and and so we.

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<v Speaker 2>Repaired a couple of pieces of equipment that needed to

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<v Speaker 2>be replaced. Uh, and then I also got to work

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<v Speaker 2>on an X ray telescope, which we use to kind

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<v Speaker 2>of try to answer those deep questions about why are

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<v Speaker 2>we here and how did the universe? How did the

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<v Speaker 2>universe come into being? You know, it studies neutron stars

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<v Speaker 2>and the you know, the remnants of of of massive

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<v Speaker 2>explosions in space, and so I got to work on

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<v Speaker 2>that and help repair it.

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<v Speaker 3>That's so cool.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, So we only have a couple of minutes left,

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<v Speaker 1>so I got to ask you a couple of questions

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<v Speaker 1>about life on the space station.

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<v Speaker 3>You were up there for Christmas. Did you get to

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<v Speaker 3>like did what is that like?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, did you get to take the day off?

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<v Speaker 1>Did you celebrate or was it just another day in

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<v Speaker 1>the office.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, we still have to we still have to

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<v Speaker 2>make sure that the station goes and keeps running, and

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<v Speaker 2>so there's a little bit of work on every day.

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<v Speaker 2>But holidays, it's an international space station, so we celebrated.

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<v Speaker 2>We celebrated Christmas just like everybody else here in the

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<v Speaker 2>United States, but we also ended up celebrating Russian Orthodox Christmas,

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<v Speaker 2>and so we celebrate international holidays up there as well,

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<v Speaker 2>and so we find time to get together as a

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<v Speaker 2>crew of seven and have a meal, you know, make

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<v Speaker 2>a cake, put out, you know, a spreadshare our you

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<v Speaker 2>know us food, or partake in you know, the international

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<v Speaker 2>food that's there, and really just commune with each other

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<v Speaker 2>as people and and talk about you know, families and

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<v Speaker 2>everything that's going on in each other's lives, and share

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<v Speaker 2>our favorite music with each other and tell jokes and

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<v Speaker 2>and just be And those are really special times up there.

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<v Speaker 3>And I would imagine for New Year's no one got

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<v Speaker 3>to pop champagne. I would think that might be a little.

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<v Speaker 2>Dangerous, a little bit dangerous.

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<v Speaker 3>All right.

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<v Speaker 1>I did see one of your videos and I noticed

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<v Speaker 1>that your hair was shorter than when we talked to you.

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<v Speaker 1>So you've got a haircut in space And I want

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<v Speaker 1>to know, this is important question stuff, How does that work?

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<v Speaker 1>Because I would imagine it would be very problematic to

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<v Speaker 1>have hair floating around the space station.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely anything floating around is if it floats around, it

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<v Speaker 2>can get in your eyes. Even worse, you could breathe

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<v Speaker 2>it in than it gets in your lungs. And so

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<v Speaker 2>we're always trying to scrub the air up there to

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<v Speaker 2>make sure that stuff that's floating around gets taken out

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<v Speaker 2>of it. So a haircut, essentially you're hooking a vacuum

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<v Speaker 2>cleaner hose to the hair trimmer. But an interesting fact

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<v Speaker 2>is we receive no training on how to give a haircut,

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<v Speaker 2>So the first one is a little you know, dicey,

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<v Speaker 2>but we learn as we go.

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<v Speaker 3>I love that, okay, and we're coming up at the

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<v Speaker 3>top of the hour.

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<v Speaker 1>I know we got to go.

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<v Speaker 3>You got to go in thirty seconds, Colonel Hag, what's

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<v Speaker 3>next for you?

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<v Speaker 2>So the mission doesn't end when you land. Surprisingly, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>going to do rehab. But there's also those science experiments.

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<v Speaker 2>They're still collecting data on me for the next thirty days,

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<v Speaker 2>sixty days, some of them will collect data on me

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<v Speaker 2>up to two years after I land. That's the science aspect.

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<v Speaker 2>The other aspect is for the next four or five months,

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<v Speaker 2>my focus is going to be on going out and

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<v Speaker 2>engaging the public and sharing the story and so that

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<v Speaker 2>postflight tour I'm looking forward to.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, we hope that your.

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<v Speaker 1>Tour includes a stop in Los Angeles. We would love

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<v Speaker 1>to welcome you home in person, and again, Colonel Haig.

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<v Speaker 1>We can't thank you enough for all of your time

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<v Speaker 1>and everything that you're doing. It's been such a thrill

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<v Speaker 1>to get to talk to you and get a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of insight into what it's like to be an astronaut.

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<v Speaker 3>So we thank you so much.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, no, my pleasure, Amy and I do look forward

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<v Speaker 2>to visiting.

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<v Speaker 3>La all right again.

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<v Speaker 1>That is Space Force Guardian NASA astronaut old Nick Hagu

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<v Speaker 1>fresh off his trip around the Earth six months in space.

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<v Speaker 3>Amazing stuff.