- 6 weeks ago
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00:11Francis Bourgeois is known for his love of trains.
00:17But since childhood, he's had another love.
00:21Space.
00:22For the first time in history,
00:25space travel isn't just for elite pilots or lifelong professionals.
00:30We are living through a moment where private companies
00:33are opening up space for everyone,
00:36not just to visit, but to work, to live and belong.
00:41And Francis felt now was the time to see if he had what it takes.
00:47Good to miss you, sweetie.
00:48I'll miss you too.
00:49Through his journey so far,
00:51he had been forced to confront some hard truths about his limitations.
00:56What's your application process like?
00:59We don't really have an application process.
01:01Call me!
01:02But Francis is not one to give up easily,
01:04because even dreams, especially the big ones,
01:08sometimes need re-rooting.
01:11Francis, can you hear us?
01:12Sorry, I'm feeling a bit sick.
01:13It's mine and Amy's anniversary, and I haven't spoken to her today.
01:17And with access to the cosmos developing at light speed,
01:21the question that had echoed in Francis' head his whole life
01:25was about to be put to the test.
01:27Can a Trainspotter become an astronaut?
01:36I was halfway across the world trying to become an astronaut,
01:40but so far things hadn't exactly gone to plan.
01:43But I'd come to America to test myself,
01:46and I wasn't about to give up.
01:48Before I continued on my mission,
01:51there was something I needed to do,
01:53someone I needed to call.
01:55Hello.
01:58Hello.
01:59I'm currently surrounded here by turkey vultures,
02:02and it sounds like you're surrounded by crows.
02:06I love crows.
02:08Yeah, just want to apologise.
02:11We couldn't speak on our anniversary,
02:14but the main thing is there have been quite a few moments
02:18where I've realised that I suppose this...
02:22I might not be kind of totally cut out for this.
02:25Well, that's all right.
02:26You don't have to be.
02:28It was boring not hearing to be on our anniversary,
02:32but I understand.
02:33I understood that you were probably just busy,
02:35and the time difference.
02:36It was quite a busy day.
02:38I understand.
02:39Thank you so much for the present, darling.
02:41I thought it was so thoughtful.
02:43That's all right.
02:44Well, I hope it reminds you of home,
02:46and reminds you how much I love you.
02:49Love you too.
02:51All right.
02:52Well, bye.
02:53Love you.
02:54Bye.
02:55Love you.
02:56I'd been in the US for almost a month.
02:59I came out here to manifest an opportunity,
03:02but it was becoming clear I still had work to do
03:05before I was truly ready to realise my dream.
03:08Under pressure, I had struggled.
03:11So I knew if I wanted to go to space,
03:13I had to learn to stay calm
03:15in the most extreme high-stress situations.
03:19So I did some research,
03:21and that's when I found a place in Boston,
03:23a facility where real astronauts are trained
03:26to handle psychological pressure.
03:28It's called Stratus,
03:30a simulation centre that recreates medical emergencies in space.
03:35They work with NASA and private missions
03:37to teach people how to stay calm
03:39when everything goes sideways,
03:41which, if I'm honest,
03:43sounded like something I could use.
03:45I want to understand whether, for me,
03:48I can deal with high-pressure scenarios
03:50in the environment of space
03:52where there are already so many things flying around my head.
03:55We're going to practise a couple of skills
03:58that you may need if you were to go up in space
04:00and be encountering some of these medical emergencies.
04:03And then we're going to put it all together in the afternoon
04:05with a couple of my team members
04:07to practise a scenario where you are going to be in space
04:10dealing with one of these emergencies that come up.
04:12OK.
04:14As missions travel deeper into space
04:17and stretch over many months and even years,
04:20astronauts need to be ready for anything.
04:23This is one version of robotic surgery.
04:26If you start moving your hands now...
04:29Ooh!
04:30You can have an expert on Earth
04:32and the patient could be up in space.
04:35Normally, it takes years to learn
04:37how to respond to medical emergencies,
04:39and I only had a few hours.
04:41So I told myself,
04:43stay calm, focus,
04:44and take this seriously.
04:46Can I actually poke myself in the face?
04:48You can try.
04:49Oh!
04:54Down here on Earth,
04:55we use a lot of tests like X-rays
04:57and CAT scans and MRIs.
04:59Up in space, that's not an option.
05:01One thing that they do have up in space, though,
05:03is ultrasound.
05:04It uses piezoelectric crystals, right?
05:06Exactly.
05:07You got it.
05:07So inside these little probes are little crystals,
05:09and that helps to generate the sound waves.
05:11It's just amazing that it's as simple as that.
05:14Would it be possible for me to try it on you?
05:18It reminds me of a cross-section
05:21of an internal combustion engine.
05:23OK.
05:24Just like the suck-squeeze-bang-blow.
05:26Yeah.
05:27My medical training was going surprisingly well.
05:30Oh!
05:30I was starting to feel vaguely confident
05:33that I could handle a cardiac arrest,
05:35or at the very least, not make it worse.
05:38Oh, manufactured in Pakistan.
05:40Andrew explained to me
05:41that a round trip to Mars
05:43would take two to three years,
05:45and companies are hoping to achieve this by 2030.
05:48Being cut off from other humans
05:50means a crew would need to know
05:52a whole host of medical procedures
05:54to look after each other
05:55should the worst happen.
05:57So Andrew wanted to step up my training
05:59to some more serious medical scenarios.
06:02I was taken into the simulated operating room
06:05where he taught me how to insert a chest tube
06:07into a high-fidelity thoracic mannequin,
06:11which is medical simulation speak
06:13for horrifyingly lifelike.
06:16It blinked.
06:17It breathed.
06:18And I'm pretty sure it was judging me.
06:20So this is an endoscopic camera.
06:23So we can put that down.
06:25If someone had really bad pneumonia,
06:27we could go suck that out.
06:29If someone had a tumour,
06:30we could go find it and take a sample.
06:33Okay, so this is now into the left lung?
06:36Correct.
06:37Wow.
06:37Well, I feel like I've explored
06:39a totally different profession
06:40that I never imagined myself doing.
06:43You hope that you're not going to need
06:44these skills up in space,
06:45but sometimes you're going to need it unexpectedly.
06:57Oh, wow.
06:59This is called a needle decompression.
07:01If someone's lung collapses,
07:03it can cause air outside of the lung
07:05to push on the healthy lung.
07:07It's something you have to do right away
07:08or the patient can die.
07:10You're just going to go straight up and down.
07:12Oh, okay.
07:13And then we can take the needle part out.
07:15Okay.
07:15This would stay into the patient
07:17until kind of the emergency was over
07:19or if they need another procedure afterwards.
07:21Okay.
07:22Would the patient typically have a laptop on their chest?
07:25Not typically, but for training purposes,
07:27this lets us know if we did it correctly.
07:28Oh, okay.
07:32I felt like I had been a model student,
07:35but now it was time for the part that couldn't be taught,
07:39staying calm when everything goes wrong.
07:54So we've had a chance this morning
07:56to work with Francis on learning a couple different skills,
08:00and now is a time for us to put those skills together
08:03in responding to a medical scenario.
08:05We work on the human factors
08:08that leads to better performance in space
08:11when teams like yourself
08:12have to manage an emergency in space.
08:15Teamwork, effective communication, and leadership.
08:18So the goal, really, of the scenario today
08:20is to give you a little bit of that experience
08:23and stress you a little bit.
08:25My stress levels were rising,
08:27especially now a Harvard professor
08:29was going to be evaluating my performance.
08:31Space crew, you're needed in the sick bay
08:33for a medical emergency.
08:35Alongside Nick and Victoria,
08:37two medical students
08:38who I'd only recently become acquainted with.
08:40Hello? Are you okay?
08:42He's not talking.
08:43So Alex was out on a spacewalk.
08:45He just returned,
08:46and he's reporting shortness of breath
08:48and pain in his chest.
08:49I need you to help assess him
08:51and treat him as soon as possible.
08:52Attach pulse oxometer.
08:53Pulse ox, 88.
08:54His oxygen is quite low.
08:56I want to start a nebulizer treatment,
08:58get the albuterol out of that kit,
09:00get the oxygen kit out.
09:01Francis, can you find that surgical kit?
09:03He may have collapsed one of his lungs.
09:05We need to do a needle decompression.
09:07So I want you to find one of those long needles.
09:10Victoria, can you feel for pulses?
09:12Nick, can you keep an eye on that C-array monitor?
09:15Sorry, Andrew.
09:16What am I looking for again?
09:18There's some orange needles.
09:19To your left, get out one of those needles.
09:21We've got to do it fast.
09:22His oxygen is getting lower.
09:23I feel pulses on both sides,
09:24and they're regular.
09:25Thank you, Victoria.
09:26A middle of that bone there,
09:27and two rib spaces down.
09:29We're going to put that needle straight in.
09:30We've got to do it.
09:32His oxygen is getting lower.
09:33We've got to do it.
09:33Okay, so straight in.
09:34Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
09:36Okay, come on, Alex.
09:37Oh, no, sorry.
09:38Push, push, push, push, push, push.
09:39I think it's on his rib.
09:40Okay.
09:42Trying to...
09:43Yep.
09:43Do it the best you can.
09:44We've got to do it.
09:45It's not going into Alex.
09:47I'm really sorry, Alex.
09:48How far down can I go?
09:49As far as it can go.
09:50We've just got to get it done.
09:56Okay, okay, yes.
09:58Come on, Alex.
09:59You're a fighter.
10:00Push, push, push, push, push.
10:01Stay with us, Alex.
10:01Straight in, straight in, straight in.
10:02Yep, it's all the way in.
10:04All right, and take the needle out,
10:05leave the colored part in.
10:08Oh, I took it out.
10:09No, I took the whole...
10:10No, I took the whole thing out.
10:13Okay, that's back in.
10:14You can get another one if you need to.
10:16No, no, no, it's off now.
10:17Yeah, I can't see.
10:17Is the catheter in his chest?
10:19Yes, it's in, it's in.
10:20Okay, Alex, how are you doing?
10:22How are you feeling?
10:23It's okay, Alex.
10:24All right, team, that is the end of your scenario.
10:26Please leave everything where it is
10:27and report to the debrief room.
10:31Thank you all for participating in that.
10:33I know it can be a little bit stressful.
10:35Did you feel like you were getting stressed at all?
10:37Yeah, well, especially when the blood oxygen levels
10:40were dropping.
10:40We also experienced a needle malfunction.
10:43Okay.
10:44I thought I was going through,
10:45but I was getting resistance.
10:47Yep.
10:48And then it happened again
10:50and I just thought,
10:51I'm making things worse here.
10:53Alex has already got a collapsed lung
10:55and I'm there poking him with the needle.
10:58And then I ended up pulling the whole needle out.
11:01Yeah.
11:01The time here in the emergency space
11:03is extremely important.
11:05Due to some of the delays in the needle decompression,
11:08the patient, unfortunately, will not survive.
11:12It's a bit of an eye-opener that just a slight misjudgment
11:17of my needle placement
11:21basically meant that Alex wouldn't be able to return home
11:27from the International Space Station.
11:29It's a lot more than just exciting engineering
11:32and loud rockets and G-Force
11:34and, you know, seeing Earth from afar.
11:38Um, and at the moment in my mind,
11:42kind of the scary, daunting, worrying things
11:47are slightly outweighing my excitement, I suppose.
11:52Um, I had trained for the worst,
11:56but still I wasn't ready
11:57because in space,
11:59even the best preparation
12:01can unravel in a heartbeat.
12:02And right in the middle of filming this series,
12:05something happened
12:06that made that reality hit home.
12:25Luckily, this was only a test flight
12:27and nobody died.
12:29But it brought it all home again.
12:32Space is no place for the faint-hearted.
12:45I had just killed a colleague called Alex
12:48in a medical space emergency simulation.
12:51And even though he was made of silicon,
12:53it was a harsh reminder that going to space
12:56could very easily be a one-way ticket.
12:58And whilst I wasn't frightened of that,
13:01I was worried for the people
13:02I'd be leaving behind.
13:04This wasn't a new thought to me.
13:06I had felt it creeping up on me
13:08like a slow-moving freight train.
13:11Which is why,
13:12before I had even left for America,
13:14I met with Dr. Ea Whiteley,
13:16a space psychologist
13:17who works with NASA astronauts
13:19on this very fear.
13:21and I thought it was important
13:22to share with you
13:23a part of our conversation
13:25because there was a very personal reason
13:27why I was struggling
13:28with the idea
13:29of leaving the planet behind.
13:36How do I stop my family
13:39and my girlfriend from worrying?
13:43Well, that's a good question
13:44and we would usually ask
13:47how do you navigate that?
13:48I feel a bit selfish
13:51and I feel like I'm making a decision for myself
13:53that is having an impact on someone who I love.
13:58Amy has a form of epilepsy
14:00and that's been something
14:02that's developed
14:03in the last three years.
14:06So I've gone from
14:07being in a relationship
14:09that is still wonderful
14:10and still blossoming
14:11and still so happy
14:12but in my head
14:14I'm worrying as well.
14:16I don't want to leave that.
14:18I don't want to leave that behind on earth
14:23because I always want to be there for her
14:26and I always want to be by her side
14:29if she needs me.
14:31So one of the things that we do
14:33is that you record a message
14:36in the eventuality
14:37that it's impossible to return home.
14:40Okay.
14:41I don't want to ask you now
14:42but you may wish to do that or not
14:44in terms of thinking
14:45of what you put into that message.
14:47It's up to you.
14:49Yeah.
14:49I think I'd want her to know
14:52that whatever happens
14:55I will be kind of around
14:57in some way or other
15:00like my cat
15:03Makapaka
15:04is in my ring.
15:06Oh.
15:07In what capacity?
15:08His ashes.
15:10Oh.
15:11Sorry.
15:13So I
15:13I feel like he's always with me.
15:17Yeah.
15:17And I hope in some way
15:18that she could do the same
15:19if anything bad would happen.
15:22But yeah.
15:23So my cat always triggers me.
15:27Well thank you for sharing that.
15:29Yeah.
15:35An unexpected part of this adventure
15:38is that I'm inadvertently training myself
15:41to be away from Amy.
15:42Not long ago
15:44two astronauts
15:45Butch Wilmore
15:46and Sonny Williams
15:47launched on what was meant to be
15:49an eight-day mission.
15:50But when their return capsule
15:52ran into serious faults
15:53they were stuck in orbit
15:55for 286 days.
15:58Engineers on Earth
15:59worked around the clock
16:00to bring them home
16:01and they thankfully
16:02made it back safely.
16:03But it was still a reminder
16:05that even now
16:06with all our technology
16:07and ambition
16:08space is still unpredictable.
16:11So I thought
16:12if I could experience
16:13what it's actually like
16:14to be isolated
16:15it might help
16:16straighten my thoughts
16:18about leaving
16:18my loved ones behind.
16:20As part of my research
16:21I was intrigued
16:22by a company called Exolith
16:24that was doing
16:25some exciting work
16:26in the area
16:27of lunar reproduction
16:28building one of the world's
16:30largest replicas
16:31of the moon's surface.
16:33To start off
16:34they wanted to show me
16:35the secret recipe
16:36of how a lunar surface
16:38is made.
16:39This kind of looks like
16:40the set up
16:40for a cooking show.
16:41Exactly, yeah
16:42we say it's like
16:42baking a cake.
16:43Start out with
16:44the anorthosite 250
16:45basalt
16:46bronzite
16:48olivine.
16:49Which is your
16:50favourite component
16:51if you could have
16:52a favourite?
16:53I like the anorthosite
16:54honestly.
16:56I couldn't help
16:57but agree
16:58that the anorthosite
16:59was particularly special
17:00and I was excited
17:02to see it
17:02in its mock lunar
17:03environment.
17:04So this is the
17:05regolith bin
17:06as you can see
17:07yeah over 130 tons
17:09in this bin.
17:10Before I stepped in
17:12I was told
17:12to put on some PPE
17:14as moon dust
17:15is abrasive
17:16and can be hazardous.
17:17It does dry
17:18your hair out
17:19quite a bit.
17:20I already have
17:21a really dry scalp
17:22so this might not
17:22be ideal.
17:24I was suited up
17:25and ready to step
17:26into the regolith bin
17:27a 10 by 10 metre
17:29replica
17:29of the lunar surface.
17:32NASA's Artemis mission
17:33is planning to return
17:35humans to the moon
17:36in 2026.
17:37At Axiom
17:38I had already got up close
17:40with the very suit
17:41that the astronauts
17:42will be wearing
17:42for this mission
17:43and now
17:45for the first time
17:46I wasn't just
17:47imagining the moon
17:51I was walking
17:52on something
17:53that felt
17:53just like it.
18:00Whoa!
18:02That's a crater.
18:03There you go.
18:03Another great.
18:04There you go.
18:07Whoa!
18:08There you go.
18:09That's what we're
18:09talking about.
18:12The team set me
18:13a task
18:14to search
18:14for buried ice
18:15just like
18:16the Artemis crews
18:17eventually will
18:18when they return
18:19to the moon.
18:19Wow.
18:20It really sticks
18:21to the shovel.
18:22It does, yeah.
18:23Because lunar ice
18:24in theory
18:25could be used
18:26to create rocket fuel
18:27which would be
18:28a game changer
18:29for long term
18:30space missions.
18:33There you go.
18:34All right.
18:34Oh, we've found it.
18:35Yeah, we have.
18:37So it was nowhere
18:38near where I was digging.
18:40Well, maybe not.
18:41This has been
18:42such a formative
18:43experience for me
18:44in a way
18:45of understanding
18:45what it's like
18:47on the moon
18:47from a materials
18:49point of view
18:49and how it feels.
18:51It's kind of also
18:52like being in a desert
18:54and another form
18:54of astronaut training
18:55where they have
18:56wilderness survival
18:57and isolation training.
18:59Yeah.
19:00And I was wondering
19:01if perhaps
19:02I could maybe
19:04I don't know
19:04if I need to ask
19:06if it's right
19:07but perhaps
19:08if I could maybe
19:09just
19:11maybe be
19:12here for an
19:13extended period
19:13of time.
19:14Right, okay.
19:14Yeah, yeah.
19:15An extended duration
19:16mission.
19:16Do it.
19:17Oh, yeah.
19:18Yeah, I think so.
19:19I think so, yeah.
19:20Do you have anything
19:21going on
19:21like overnight?
19:23No, we're free.
19:25Sleepover.
19:26Yeah.
19:27If I was ever
19:27going to understand
19:28what space
19:29might take from me
19:30I wanted to feel
19:31what it might be like
19:32to be truly isolated.
19:34I feel like it can add
19:34another element
19:35to the training.
19:37So I asked
19:38the production team
19:39if someone could
19:39kindly pick me up
19:40a tent
19:41so I could pitch up
19:42for the night
19:43on the regolith.
19:43Is that okay?
19:44Yeah.
19:44Do you ever
19:46get regolithy
19:47bogeys?
19:52As night fell
19:53I stepped back
19:54onto the regolith
19:55just me
19:56and a few
19:57billion grains
19:58of synthetic
19:59moon dust.
20:00I wanted to see
20:01if I could handle
20:02the silence
20:02and be left alone
20:04with my own thoughts.
20:06Have a good night
20:07Francis.
20:11As I began
20:12to pitch my tent
20:13I started to think
20:14about my conversation
20:15with Dr. Whiteley.
20:17Camping on a fake moon
20:18felt like the safest place
20:20to try and say
20:21something honest.
20:22I wasn't entirely sure
20:24what was about
20:25to come out of my mouth
20:26so I pointed my phone
20:28camera at my face
20:29which is the setup
20:30I normally use
20:31for recording TikToks
20:32about trains
20:33for my followers
20:34but this was different
20:35as this video
20:36was only meant
20:38for one person.
20:39Hello Amy.
20:42Even though
20:43you're far away
20:47and we're not together
20:49we're not
20:50at Pembroke Lodge
20:52having a chai latte
20:53we're not
20:56going on the Thames Clipper
21:00we're
21:02I'm
21:03I'm still there with you
21:05and
21:06we have each other
21:08and all we've
21:08given each other
21:09in
21:10our experiences
21:12our shared knowledge
21:13and our love
21:15and
21:15what you've given me
21:17is
21:19incredible
21:19and
21:20life changing
21:22I wouldn't be here
21:23where I am now
21:24if it wasn't for you
21:26and
21:27I just want to say
21:28I love you
21:29and
21:30I will always
21:32be with you
21:37Space travel
21:38demands more
21:39than just strength
21:40and science
21:41it asks you
21:42to sever the threads
21:44that tether you
21:44to the people
21:45that you love
21:46and as I lay alone
21:47in a sea of artificial dust
21:49I began to understand
21:51the gravity
21:52of that distance
22:01yeah I think
22:02you might need
22:03to stop
22:04I think we might
22:05just miss it
22:07okay
22:08stop
22:08stop
22:11stop
22:11stop
22:24I have always loved trains
22:26how they move
22:28how they work
22:29how sometimes
22:30it feels like
22:31they're alive
22:32and talking to me
22:33after the setbacks
22:35I'd faced
22:35trying to become
22:36an astronaut
22:37I needed to ground myself
22:39because there was no way
22:40I could come to America
22:41and not see the largest
22:43operational steam locomotive
22:45in the world
22:47a 600 ton monument
22:49to human ingenuity
22:51and the machine
22:52that fuelled my childhood
22:53love for engineering
22:55Union Pacific's
22:56Big Boy
22:57built in the 1940s
22:59only 25 were ever made
23:01each one
23:02132 feet long
23:04designed to haul freight
23:06over the rocky mountains
23:07during world war 2
23:08and today
23:104014
23:11is the only operational
23:13big boy left
23:14in the world
23:15it's not just big
23:17it's historic
23:17and to me
23:18and many other railway
23:19enthusiasts around the world
23:21it's mythic
23:22this is the locomotive
23:24at the top of everyone's list
23:26I've watched clips of it
23:27for years
23:28processed its sounds
23:30dreamt of one day
23:31standing in front of it
23:32and although this wasn't
23:34technically part of my
23:35astronaut journey
23:36I knew that if I was
23:37going to move forward
23:38I had to reconnect
23:39with where it all began
23:40is it behind me
23:42it's the big boy right here
23:43okay
23:53oh my goodness me
23:56wow
24:02I honestly couldn't believe
24:03what I was looking at
24:06even though it was stationary
24:09I could feel its power
24:19it's the big boy right here
24:21you can see the work that we're doing
24:22you can see a little paper tag in there
24:24yeah
24:25so
24:25it's very good
24:27it's cool isn't it
24:34it's totally overwhelmed
24:36just looking at this cylinder
24:38and thinking
24:39the amount of pressure
24:41the amount of energy
24:42and
24:43usually like
24:45my emotional stimulation
24:47comes through noise
24:48and
24:49it's enough of a visual feast
24:51to
24:52provoke
24:54this response
24:55I suppose
24:57for me
24:58coming here
24:59there aren't any
25:00stressful strings attached
25:01that I've been feeling
25:02with
25:02this astronaut training process
25:05I think
25:06not only has this been
25:07great just to see
25:08for my own passion
25:09but
25:11has also been a bit of a point of
25:13almost like a point of realisation
25:15I suppose
25:15like
25:16what do I really want to do with my life
25:19you know
25:19this is so
25:22in my mind
25:23so emotionally uncomplicated
25:26and I can tell my girlfriend
25:28I'm going off to see a train today
25:30and not
25:31I'm going off
25:33to the outer atmosphere
25:38seeing Big Boy
25:39not only was it just
25:40a big bucket list item
25:42but
25:43it's
25:43actually been quite helpful
25:45in understanding
25:46what I really want from this
25:47there is a common ground
25:48of course
25:49between
25:49the railway
25:50and space
25:51and that's engineering
25:53you know
25:53we can still
25:54explore
25:55the space industry
25:56but maybe we can
25:58just
25:58boil it down
26:00to
26:00more of like
26:01an engineering focus
26:03I came to America
26:04with the grand idea
26:06of trying to become an astronaut
26:07but standing in front of Big Boy
26:09I realised something
26:10engineering runs through my veins
26:13maybe I don't need to leave Earth
26:15to be part of space
26:16perhaps I could help build the future from here
26:19so I reached out to Firefly
26:21a Texas based rocket manufacturer
26:23who are building launch systems for NASA
26:25and beyond
26:26to see if I could understand
26:28how people like me
26:29might still have a role
26:30in the new space age
26:32right I'm just going to put my helmet away
26:34and I could tell pretty quickly
26:36I was surrounded by my kind of people
26:38we have our pneumatic systems
26:40so
26:41this accumulator here
26:43will be
26:44all the
26:45GN2 pneumatics
26:46without getting into
26:48Electron pneumatics
26:49it's safe to say
26:51I was in heaven
26:51all the test stand pneumatics
26:54all the stand side
26:55GSE plumbing
26:56propellant valves
26:57nitrogen valves
26:59purge valves
26:59this is Reaver
27:01wow
27:03oh my goodness
27:06wow
27:07is this like the tap-off exhaust then
27:09correct
27:09this is the exhaust
27:10yeah
27:11these engines actually
27:12are the first tap-off cycle engines
27:14to have reached orbit
27:15and that in general
27:16usually increases
27:17the specific impulse
27:19doesn't it
27:19right yes
27:20these engines are very efficient
27:22it's a very reliable design
27:23it's about 45,000 foot-pounds
27:25of thrust
27:26yeah
27:26per Reaver
27:27so
27:27today we'll actually be
27:29trimming the engine in
27:30for flight
27:31my engineering mind
27:33is just like
27:34popping off all over the place
27:35yeah
27:36you'll have a lot of fun today
27:37you're in the right place
27:38what a dream
27:38to work somewhere
27:39like here
27:40the best job in the world
27:41for sure
27:42what's this pooling
27:43at the bottom here
27:44that's a little bit of RP1
27:45on my finger
27:46on your finger
27:47okay
27:47you'll probably want to get some
27:48IPA
27:49clean that off
27:52I've never touched
27:53refined kerosene before
27:57after thoroughly washing my hands
27:59with isopropyl alcohol
28:01I was introduced
28:02to some of the team
28:03who were building
28:04the actual rocket engines
28:06and instantly
28:07I was drawn in
28:09do you have a favourite
28:10kind of weave
28:11a favourite weave
28:12I can't say
28:13you can't say
28:14I'm not allowed to say
28:15what we use here
28:15oh right
28:16but I do
28:16I do have a favourite weave
28:18my favourite weave
28:19is also a secret
28:20we say
28:21the rocket talks to you
28:22are you going to listen
28:24right
28:24and it's serious
28:25the data
28:26the numbers
28:26the vibrations
28:27dynamics
28:27shock
28:28it talks to you
28:28what's it like
28:29working here
28:30it is never boring
28:31it is a roller coaster
28:32every day
28:33what I love about it
28:34is that I can own
28:35like that's mine
28:36when you see it launch
28:37you're just like
28:38it's like your child
28:39you're like
28:39oh there
28:39there they go
28:40you know
28:40it's so beautiful
28:42this hold
28:445500 PSIA
28:45at cryogenic temperatures
28:46it's like you're singing
28:48to me
28:49my brain is receiving
28:51your information
28:52and is being stimulated
28:53in the same way
28:54that I'd listen to music
28:58what you're listening for
29:00is a dull
29:00kind of hollow sound
29:01and that would indicate
29:02that you'd have a void
29:06whoo-hoo
29:09there they're going to pass it
29:10wow
29:10we're just finding
29:11the resonant frequency
29:13we have it
29:13googling it
29:14whoo-hoo
29:18whoo-hoo
29:18whoo
29:19it looks like
29:20a happy whale
29:20yeah
29:21this is cool
29:24I got it
29:29spending time
29:30with the engineers
29:31it just clicked
29:32I felt like
29:34I'd found my people
29:35curious minds
29:36solving big problems
29:38and then
29:39as if things
29:40couldn't get
29:40any more exciting
29:41the team asked me
29:43if I'd like to see
29:44something I'd never
29:45thought I'd witness
29:46in real life
29:47a hot fire
29:48rocket engine test
29:53whoa
29:54oh my god
29:57oh my god
30:04oh my god
30:15oh my god
30:16oh my god
30:23Oh my god!
30:24It's hard to put into words, right? When you can feel it in your soul.
30:28I'm in shock. That noise.
30:33Yeah, you can hear the turbo pumps spool up and then it just hits you all at once.
30:40That's one of my new favourite noises.
30:42Right?
30:43Alongside with the Paxman Ruston 16RK3CTs.
30:46The job satisfaction that comes from actually launching a rocket or doing these types of things is just unmatched.
30:52And look, as I understand, you know, Firefly as a company is expanding, right?
30:56We're growing pretty exponentially.
30:58Lunar Landers, Alpha Launch, our medium launch vehicle Eclipse.
31:02Yeah.
31:04Are you looking for a job?
31:06Well, I mean, yeah, my engineering kind of skills and expertise, it's there.
31:13There's your flame right there.
31:14Oh, nice.
31:15Yeah.
31:15I think I was just offered a job, but unfortunately I was distracted by some afterburn.
31:22I've got the feeling.
31:24It's making me realise that this side of kind of the space industry is kind of where the energy is
31:32kind of pulling me in a way, like being launched into space.
31:34You know, that's tying into my sensation of oxygen deprivation.
31:42This is just tying into love and like passion.
31:46For the first time, I started to believe I might actually belong in the world of space.
31:52I had failed my mission to become an astronaut, but here amongst my fellow engineers, perhaps I had discovered my
32:00calling.
32:01But then, just as I was starting to believe it, everything changed.
32:06So, I remember Matt Ondela from Axiom.
32:12He's just sent through a message.
32:15Hi, Francis.
32:17We're in final preparation for AX4, which will be another historic mission to the International Space Station.
32:23And it got me thinking about our conversations about your next steps.
32:27I know you're serious about taking your engineering skills from the workshop to orbit, and we want to help you
32:33do that and talk about our astronaut training opportunities.
32:38Axiom Station will be in orbit before we know it, and we're going to need crew.
32:42So, look forward to talking to you soon, Francis.
32:44Bye.
32:48Sorry, did I watch it again?
32:50Taking your engineering skills to orbit.
32:52We want to help you do that and astronaut training opportunities.
33:15We're going to need crew.
33:22So, look forward to talking to you soon, Francis.
33:24Bye.
33:38I had come all this way to try and get a foot in the space industry.
33:42And now, somehow, I'd been offered a place on an actual astronaut training program.
33:49And I didn't have a clue what to do.
33:52I was missing home, my body ached, and my brain felt like it was orbiting itself.
33:57I needed somewhere quiet to think.
34:00Somewhere that reminded me why I started this journey in the first place.
34:04So, I searched for Space Museum near me, and found the American Space Museum, which was conveniently near me.
34:12I was expecting something grand, like a gleaming NASA-style hall of heroism.
34:17But what I got was a small bungalow.
34:19However, as I'd soon come to realize, sometimes the smallest places hold the biggest stories.
34:26I was hoping for some quiet reflection.
34:29But whilst I began perusing the various oddities, a man suddenly appeared and introduced himself to me.
34:36Welcome to the American Space Museum.
34:39Okay, we love having foreign visitors here.
34:42Here was Mark Marquette, the museum director, who then unexpectedly proceeded to give me a private and extensive tour of
34:50some of the most incredible fragments of history I'd ever seen.
34:54And it's no exaggeration to say that this chance encounter influenced the biggest decision of my life.
35:01This is the hatch of the first Mercury that was launched on an Atlas rocket.
35:07And it blew up.
35:08We've got John Glenn's hard hat and pictures of him wearing it.
35:11The world's first lithium battery that powers your cell phone.
35:15Flight manual from Apollo 11 here.
35:17This is the computer that took us to the moon, the slide rule.
35:21This is Leland Melvin, and he likes Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs.
35:27How do you know that?
35:28This person was hearing 20 conversations going on at one time.
35:33It's so beautifully retro.
35:35Let me show you this, our newspaper from 1969.
35:41I've got goosebumps.
35:42You should have been there.
35:43So this launched over 350 Atlas II rockets and a couple other rockets on there.
35:49Flip that emergency control.
35:56But we had a gentleman came in that was 80-some years old.
36:00He walked over to this machine.
36:01He looks, oh my gosh, this is my machine.
36:03Really?
36:04I worked on this machine in 1963, 1964.
36:09I pushed this start and stop button so many times I can't count it.
36:13And he stood there and froze and looked and I saw tears welling up in his eyes.
36:18And I said, sir, what are you thinking about?
36:21And he turned to me, Francis, and he said, dammit, I loved everybody I worked here.
36:27I was 27 years old and we were going to the moon.
36:30His name was John Borlein.
36:32And I go over to this picture and I say, do you recognize anybody in this picture?
36:37And his son goes, that's you, Dad.
36:41And that's Jim.
36:42And I went to school with Bob's kids.
36:44And Bill died last year.
36:46And I mean, I was like, I was like almost crying now, just thinking about this, you know.
36:52And then I tell people this story and I say, like, they had pride in their craft.
36:59All right, they had pride in their craft.
37:01Oh, OK.
37:02Oh, it gets to you too, buddy.
37:04Sorry, I don't know why I'm getting so, like, um...
37:08That's what we're all about here, my friend.
37:11That's, uh...
37:11This is, this is like just pure passion.
37:14Like, our spirits at the moment are just dancing together.
37:18Absolutely.
37:21It's, it's like a, it's, it's a sensory overload.
37:25The associations of the stories with each object gives me such goosebumps.
37:33And kind of what a brilliant conduit for it all to, to hear it through Mark's kind of brilliant enthusiasm.
37:42I just get passionate about Francis because I grew up with this as a boy.
37:46And I hope other people have in their lifetime something that they truly enjoy and are passionate about that they
37:53can share with other people.
37:54Yeah.
37:55And that's the cool thing about this whole thing.
37:57You don't have to fly the spaceship.
37:59There's something for everybody when it comes to space.
38:03It felt like every nut and bolt had a story.
38:06And every scorch marked relic had a soul.
38:09Everything was real and analogue.
38:11And for someone who grew up online, it felt refreshingly human.
38:15And whilst most museum guides wrap up with a gift shop, Mark had other ideas.
38:20We do a podcast called Stay Curious to talk to space workers.
38:25Could you do an interview with me?
38:26Oh yeah.
38:27Yeah.
38:27Good.
38:28We'll set that up here.
38:30I wasn't exactly in the mood to be interviewed, but Mark was just too kind to refuse.
38:36And that looks good.
38:38My lights here, our little crude studio here.
38:42I actually unintentionally left this tie in my jacket pocket.
38:46I feel I could be suitable for this occasion.
38:49OK.
38:49But deep down, I knew I had something I needed to say.
38:53Not just to Mark, but to myself.
38:57Today with a special guest from the UK, Francois Bourgeois.
39:02Francois, welcome to our humble little podcast here.
39:07Sorry, it's Francis Bourgeois.
39:09I've been calling you Francis all day, so just got a little carried away with the introduction.
39:13Tell us a little bit about yourself, Francis.
39:16Yeah.
39:16How did you get into this career?
39:18This is kind of my first time in America.
39:20So it's been a real learning experience for me about what I might want to do.
39:27My interest lies very strongly in engineering, but through a lot of, you know, some of the
39:34training processes I've been exposed to, you know, it's made me feel quite anxious and
39:41stressed and, you know, maybe I'm realising that, you know, maybe the astronaut journey
39:47isn't for me, but perhaps my passion lies elsewhere.
39:53In astronautical engineering, you know, infrastructure engineering, and maybe even just being a...
40:04Sorry.
40:04Maybe even just, you know, doing shows like this to show how awesome it is to be part of, like,
40:14the sort of, the profession in the space world or even to inspire those to become an astronaut.
40:21I would not be discouraged about your quest to be an astronaut.
40:25You have your dreams.
40:27You don't know where your dreams are going to take you in there.
40:30There's many other roles to assume.
40:33You know, I have my beautiful, lovely girlfriend, Amy, back at home, my brilliant family,
40:39and all my friends who, you know, I don't have to worry about, you know, if I were to never
40:46see them again.
40:47Amy gave me a present before I left.
40:51Oh, my gosh.
40:52That's me and that's my girlfriend, Amy.
40:55Wow.
40:57She really loves you.
40:58Yeah.
40:59Look at that.
41:00That is awesome.
41:02Yeah.
41:02Amy, something else there.
41:04Yeah, she's beautiful, even in model form.
41:06Well, I hope that you find what you're looking for in this journey of being an astronaut.
41:11Thank you for sharing your story here with our watchers and listeners here on Stay Curious.
41:17Until next time that I meet you all, I want to say I'm Mark Marquette and I can't wait to
41:23see you again to bridge the space between us.
41:27Thank you so much.
41:29Thank you, Mark.
41:32Was that, was that okay?
41:33I could have stayed with Mark all day.
41:36What he'd built was extraordinary.
41:38Not just a collection, but a cathedral of stories.
41:41I felt like I had touched the past and it had touched me back.
41:45But even after all that, I was still stuck.
41:49I had been offered the thing I set out to find, a way into space, and I didn't know whether
41:54to say yes.
41:55Cheerio.
41:56Cheerio.
41:57See you later.
41:59Now there's somebody that's going to do something with his life, I guarantee it.
42:08So I pedalled to the coast.
42:11There was a rocket due to launch that evening.
42:13And I thought maybe watching someone else go might help me work out if I really wanted to.
42:34Oh, my God.
42:42Oh my God.
42:56There are people on that.
43:02Oh!
43:03Oh!
43:04Oh!
43:04Oh!
43:04That's the booster returning!
43:06Wow!
43:08Oh!
43:09Oh!
43:13Oh!
43:14Hello, Matt.
43:16Thank you, truly, for your offer.
43:18I never imagined I'd get this far,
43:20let alone have someone like you and Axiom believe in me.
43:24I came to America chasing a childhood dream
43:27and I found myself being violently sick on a zero-gravity flight.
43:32Sorry, I'm feeling a bit sick.
43:33Accidentally killing a medical dummy in a simulated space disaster.
43:37Sorry, Alex.
43:38Starving my brain of oxygen in a hyperbaric chamber
43:41and singing an Elton John classic to a room full of very enthusiastic strangers.
43:47And along the way,
43:48I met some of the kindest and most brilliant people I've ever come across.
43:53But somewhere between all of this, I realised something.
43:56I don't need to go to space to prove I belong in it.
44:00So I'm going to have to bluntly decline your offer,
44:03but only because this journey gave me something even more valuable
44:07and I'm leaving with more than I ever came looking for.
44:11I'm ready to go home.
44:27So you plunge the needle through.
44:32Yeah.
44:32In between the ribs.
44:33And then you can kind of reinflate the lung using that method.
44:41How did you find that? Did you enjoy it?
44:43Could that be a future career?
44:46Probably not.
44:48Space is no longer a mystery.
44:50It's a marketplace.
44:51And in this new age of extraordinary possibility, one must pause to ask,
44:57who are we really opening the stars up to?
45:00And for what reason?
45:03Francis's journey had begun with that very question.
45:06But along the way, he discovered that while the cosmos might be vast,
45:12space within one's heart is infinite.
45:15As he stood beside Amy, watching a balloon fill up with hydrogen,
45:20he knew that while he would always reach for the stars,
45:23his home would forever be here amidst the laughter, joy and love of his earthly existence.
45:47And as they watched the balloon disappear into the blue, Francis understood that his real journey
45:55was not about escaping the ties of Earth, but about appreciating them.
46:00For the beauty of our planet and the bonds we cherish are the true anchors of our dreams.
46:09The triumphs of all beings.
46:19The triumphs of the川 of the Earth
46:29The triumphs of all beings in thedade of the Earth
46:29And the triumphs of the Earth
46:29The triumphs of all beings in the structures,
46:30the loveliness of all beings in the psychic powers and in the world.
46:30The triumphs of all beings in the matter.
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