Scott “Scooter” Altman, ASRC Federal Space operating group president, appeared on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper to discuss the return to Earth of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9.
Altman, a former astronaut and 2018 Astronaut Hall of Fame inductee, is a veteran of four space flights, logging over 51 days in space and commanding the final two servicing missions of the Hubble Space Telescope. He shared some of his spaceflight experience, including his perspective on reentry and readjusting to Earth after a space mission, during a special segment with Tapper – and later served as a live commentator during the spacecraft landing off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, on March 18.
According to Altman, “one of the most valuable things about [astronauts] having a long-term stay on the space station is that it has taught us how to live in zero gravity and then be able to respond when you come back into a gravity environment. The workout regime that astronauts put in – about two hours each day – makes it a lot easier for them to adapt when they return to Earth.”
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore splashed down on Tuesday after spending more than nine months in orbit on the International Space Station. This marked the completion of the agency’s ninth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station that also included astronauts Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Welcome home NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9! ASRC Federal is grateful for the crew’s safe return and our team is excited to continue supporting NASA’s vital missions.
