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Texas Astronaut Bound For Space Station

Image via NASA (Public Domain)
The International Space Station will soon host Tim Kopra, who is planned to break the record for longest stint in space for a Texan.

From Texas Standard: NASA astronaut Tim Kopra will soon break a record for the number of days a Texan has been in space – five months, to be exact. He'll be visiting the International Space Station, conducting experiments in coordination with ground teams, and bringing materials up for scientists already on ISS. 

He'll also conduct spacewalks to repair equipment as needed.

"Thankfully, we have a lot of help," Kopra says. "We have people who help plan out the clothes that we’ll bring, the food that we’ll eat, and they’ll give us some allocation for our personal effects as well."

Kopra says when he was around six when Americans first landed on the moon.

"It was a natural childhood dream, and I was very fortunate for things to work out in the long term," he says.

Kopra says he will bring a little piece of the Lone Star state on the ISS.

"I have a handful of Texas flags, for example, that I am bringing up... photographs and books that are important to me, to make it feel like home," he says.

A career as an astronaut may sound like a dream gig, and Kopra says he knows how lucky he is.

"At the end of the day this is a job," he says. "I would just say it is just about the coolest job I could ever have."

Hear more at Texas Standard.

 

Rhonda joined KUT in late 2013 as producer for the station's new daily news program, Texas Standard. Rhonda will forever be known as the answer to the trivia question, “Who was the first full-time hire for The Texas Standard?” She’s an Iowa native who got her start in public radio at WFSU in Tallahassee, while getting her Master's Degree in Library Science at Florida State University. Prior to joining KUT and The Texas Standard, Rhonda was a producer for Wisconsin Public Radio.
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