Deb Aronson

Sharing Space

First appeared in in January 2001 under Profiles

Like most people, astronaut Joe Tanner ‘73 ENG puts his pants on one leg at a time, but in his case, those pants belong to a space suit and weight 60 pounds. Last February, Tanner joined an elite group of astronauts — one of only 19 on active duty who have spacewalking, or “extra vehicular activity” (EVA), experience.

During the mission, STS-82, Tanner and six other astronauts replaced and updated parts of the Hubble telescope.

There are guys who say you really haven’t flown in space until you’ve been EVA, and I’d have to agree with that,” Tanner says.

“We’d spent so many hours training in the simulator (in a large pool, wearing space suits) that there were times outside when I drifted into the training mode and thought I was in the pool next to the divers,” says Tanner. “Then I’d look around and realize there’s nothing between me and the universe. And I was struck by how completely black space is, like no black you’ve ever seen on Earth. It was very awe-inspiring. The sense of freedom was pure joy.

“You could imagine that if you let go you would just drift away — except if you know anything about orbital mechanics, you know you can let go and you won’t go anywhere.”

The sense of freedom was constrained only by a tight-fitting, 300-pound space suit.

“The suit makes you look like the Pillsbury Doughboy, but it’s actually very difficulty to move in,” says Tanner. “It’s made up of five layers of soft fabric, but when it’s inflated to 4.3 pounds per square inch it becomes hard as a rock. You might look soft, but you’re more like the Michelin man than a marshmallow.”

Tanner often tells people that walking in space is similar to being underwater, except that you don’t have to hold your breath. Astronauts breathe pure oxygen (“you feel great, it gives you a kind of natural high”), so there are no smells associated with space and the only sounds is the fan circulating oxygen through the space suit and the radio conversations with other astronauts.

During the mission, Tanner helped replace one of the fine guidance sensors, which are used to aim the Hubble telescope at stars, galaxies and black holes as it collects scientific data. Each guidance sensor is about the size and weight of a baby grand piano. The old unit was taken back to Earth, is now being refurbished and will be swapped back in on the next Hubble servicing mission, currently scheduled for 1999.

Tanner also replaced one of Hubble’s tape recorders, which stores scientific data, and helped replace several electronics boxes, each the size of a microwave oven, that control the telescope’s functions. Putting a set of protective covers over Hubble’s magnetometer (an instrument for measuring magnetic forces) was Tanner’s final task, which he accomplished while working with fellow astronaut Greg Harbaugh. They had to go to the top of the telescope, more than 50 feet above the shuttle’s cargo bay. All in all, Tanner spent more than 13 hours outside the shuttle crew cabin.

His experience on this flight has enabled him to be selected as part of the team constructing the International space Station, a joint effort among the United States, Russia, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and several other countries. This international mission, STS-97, is scheduled for 1999.

For the Danville native, it has all been a dream come true.

“Even before I got into aviation I wanted to be an astronaut,” says Tanner, one of five boys, including a twin. “My brothers and I were always exploring, whether it was in the backyard or on camping trips to Canada or the local state parks. I was not fearful of new places. My brothers are the same way. I guess we got it from my dad.” Tanner credits his father, a physician, with inspiring him to apply himself, to set goals and then achieve them.

“My dad is a great role model and taught me many things, including that whatever you do, do the best you can,” says Tanner.

Tanner spent a lot of time flying jets before joining the space program. After graduating from the University of Illinois in mechanical engineering, Tanner joined the Navy. He flew A-7 attack aircraft and finished his active service as an advanced jet instructor pilot with Training Squadron 4 in Pensacola, Fla. In 1984, Tanner began working for the NASA Johnson Space Center as an aerospace engineer and research pilot. He taught space shuttle landing techniques in the shuttle training aircraft and instructed the astronaut pilots and mission specialists in the T-38 training jet.

In 1992, after applying five times, Tanner was selected as an astronaut candidate.

When people comment on his perseverance, Tanner responds that, “I wasn’t pining over being an astronaut. In fact I had a great job at NASA before being selected for the space program. Of course, it is very satisfying to achieve your goal,” he adds.

Tanner completed one year of initial training and worked in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory before being assigned to his first mission, which was part of the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) series of missions. ATLAS is a 10-flight mission designed to investigate the relationships between Earth’s atmosphere and the sun. Tanner’s mission, STS-66, also included taking photographs of the Earth that documented the effects of human activities on the planet.

Tanner also was able to help deploy one orbiting body and retrieve another. The crew deployed the German CRISTA-SPAS satellite to catalog chemicals in the atmosphere at multiple points around the globe. Eight days later crew members rendezvoused with an orbiting body, perfecting the plus R-Bar approach, which uses principles of orbital mechanics to naturally slow the shuttle, so that the number of jet firings close to the target are minimized. This was an important practice for a technique that was later used when the space shuttle Atlantis made its historic docking with the Russian space station Mir.

While Tanner appears to take his work as an astronaut in stride, his voice does fill with awe and wonder when he describes his first launch in 1994.

“As I was riding I was thinking, wow we’re going five times the speed of sounds … now we’re going seven times the speed of sound … now we’re 300,000 feet above Earth. It feels like a normal ride, but man alive, think of where we’re going! It was a tremendous feeling, very satisfying. Especially for me, to know I had reached my goal of becoming an astronaut.”

In a typical launch, says Tanner, the first two minutes are the most exciting. Astronauts are pushed from 1.4 Gs to 2.7 Gs (one G equals the amount of force experienced on Earth) and the ride is “real rough.” Then the main engines kick in and it’s very smooth. At this point, astronauts are pinned back with the force of three Gs. Then, once all the fuel is burned, the shuttle goes form three Gs to zero Gs in a fraction of a second and everything starts to float.

Tanner compares parts of the ride with flying an airplane.

“It’s not a bad ride at all,” he says. “I’ve done more violent maneuvers in an airplane pulling up to seven Gs … of course, that was when I was younger,” he adds with a laugh. “The difference is that in an airplane you only feel that much force for a few seconds, not for several minutes.”

Even after logging 502 hours in space and orbiting Earth 325 times, tanner manages to keep his feet on the ground and remember his roots. He frequently returns to central Illinois, where his parents still live and where he has close ties to the University of Illinois and his high school. On each of his missions, he has taken several items, including banners, medallions and photographs, into space for the University, as well as for his elementary and high schools.

His school visits always include showing photographs of his space travels and answering questions.

“The kids often ask great questions,” says Tanner.

Those questions include the following:

How do you sleep?

Answer: “On the ceiling.”

What do you eat?

Answer: “Pretty much the same foods you eat at home, including peanut butter and jelly.”

“How do you shower?”

Answer: “We don’t we take sponge baths instead.”

Tanner, who is married and has two sons, never tires of visiting schools to tell children about the space program.

“One of the functions of our office is to present the space program to the public, and as astronauts we’re considered good ambassadors. It’s important to sell the program to children, to capture their minds and get them interested and excited about space and science in general. I have been blessed with a great role model in my dad, and if I can inspire some of these school children, even briefly, like my father inspired me, then it’s rewarding for me.”