posted 10-09-2016 12:06 PM
   
Time flies: it seems like only yesterday we had Tom Stafford with us and now we were about to meet arguably the hottest astronaut property out there: Retired USN Captains Mark and Scott Kelly. At a private dinner with the Space Lectures team I took the opportunity to reacquaint Scott with a familiar, all be it smaller face from his last flight aboard the ISS.  I was fortunate to share a table with Mark. The older of the two by six minutes he was relaxed and easy to talk to. From Brexit, Scottish Independence and his wife Gabby to current business ventures, his own limited political ambitions and playing golf with Barack Obama. For the record, President Obama is a sore looser... but he never welches on a bet! Following dinner, both took the opportunity to mingle with the rest of the team before the traditional induction in to the Humberside constabulary. Friday night's dinner was a sell-out and it followed the usual format. After the meal Mark and Scott said a few words before picking out the raffle tickets. Scanning the goodies on offer Mark retorted "There's going to be trouble if somebody picks Hadfield's book over mine!" Almost inevitably somebody did, much to Mark's chagrin. Scott insisted on bidding for an unsigned proof copy of Mike Massimino's new book "Spaceman". "50 cents," he said with a twinkle in his eye that had the diners in bulk. And the laughter continued as Mark then stood and filmed the stalled bidding. It was obvious to everybody what Mike Massimino was going to find on his phone the next morning. Thankfully his blushes were saved and the piece eventually sold for £30.00. Mark interjected once more during bidding on a beautiful signed STS-134 print of Endeavour docked with the ISS. "I'll send the winner a flown patch to replace the one in the frame." An extremely generous offer, which saw the piece achieve the highest price of the night. Carleton Community High School on Saturday was packed. As we make the inevitable transition from Apollo to a younger generation of astronaut it was reassuring both at the dinner and the lecture to see so many new faces. This bodes well going forward but be assured we have not yet seen the last of the early space pioneers.  Scott's and Mark's presentation was slick, informative and funny in equal measure: a polished double act comparable to any. Born in Orange, New Jersey of Irish descent, neither by their own admission was particularly academic. Scott was an accomplished truant and on the surface perhaps, not the sharpest tool in the box. On his first day at high school he found himself in the wrong school! But then he bought his first book, Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" and that gave him a sense of purpose and direction. Both Kellys went on to earn their engineering degrees and become naval aviators. Mark sheepishly admitted that in 1986 he drove through the gates at his first naval air station playing the sound track to the movie Top Gun — at full tilt. But once he began training he quickly realised, "I was no Maverick!" While Mark trained as an A6 Intruder attack pilot, Scott made his mark as an F-14 fighter pilot. Neither twin it appeared was cut out for naval aviation. Mark's first carrier landing took several comical attempts and Scott essentially crash landed on his. But over time, they applied themselves; both sharing the guiding principle that they could influence and control only what they were doing, and not what was going on around them.  During the time I spent in their company there was no evidence of the rivalry one might expect between ambitious and capable identical twins, with one or two exceptions. Mark served with distinction in the first Gulf War. "What did Scott do in the war?" I asked. "Sit in his armchair," came the reply. And later, to reinforce the point Mark quipped "Fighter pilots make movies. Attack pilots make history!" The Space Lectures audience are an informed, attentive and knowledgeable crowd: the Q&A bore testimony to that. But you could hear a pin drop when Mark talked about the interminable seconds, minutes and hours that followed the news on Jan. 8, 2011 that his wife Gabby had been shot. Moving would be an understatement. The hairs stood on the back of my neck and the sense of despair amongst the audience was palpable: clearly emotional, I suspect the tear in Mark's eye was not the only one in the theatre at that moment. In contrast Scott would lighten the moment with funny stories of impending disaster as a rogue satellite headed for the ISS at a closing speed of 35,000 miles per hour. Naturally, he floated into action, closing 18 hatches, making the station safe as best he could and preparing for a speedy departure aboard the Soyuz. And all the while is Soviet crewmates ate lunch!  It transpires, Mark and Scott are "skilled" space dentitions. Both had been required to help colleagues replace teeth that had become detached from their posts. Scott would have us believe that his work was the more proficient: after all his crewmates were going to be up there for much longer. "Stronger glue," was Mark's retort. Strong glue aside, Mark and Scott epitomised what could be achieved with hard work and perseverance. Their closing message was a simple one. Whether it is finding a cure for cancer, an answer to the problems of global warming or reaching out to the stars, "The sky is NOT the limit." At this point I should apologise to the photographers in the audience. As per usual, the lighting had been rigged to illuminate the front of stage area but as they ran through the sound check the twins opted to use the stage itself. There was not enough time to crank down the lighting gantries and switch things around so stage lighting was limited. This did not impact at all on the calibre of the lecture, but it did make photography without flash "tricky." This was our first event at which two astronauts were signing. There was the occasional bottleneck as Mark paused to check placement or to examine some of the more unusual pieces which slowed down the transition from Scott's table, but we still managed to get everybody's pieces signed in respectable 60 minutes or so.  Following both the dinner and the lecture the twins and Scott's partner Amiko (NASA Public Affairs Officer) complimented the team on the organisation and the slick signing process. Ken Willoughby has asked me to thank everybody who attended the weekend. Without your support these events would not be possible and we look forward to seeing everybody in April for our next event with Top Gun pilot and NASA veteran Scott "Scooter" Altman. Roll on April.  | 
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