An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir April 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 22 | BY CAPT DAMIEN O'HERLIHY (AR), 2 CAV SQN T his is a story of how a unit flash of the now retired Irish Defence Forces Reserve unit 11 Cavalry Squadron FCÁ ended up orbiting the planet as part of the 50th mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and came back to Dublin. A journey of nearly 118,000,000 Kilometres taking 173 days and approximately 400 kilometres above the earth with an average speed of over 28,000. NASA Astronaut Shane Kimbrough (Retired Colonel, US Army) has been a family friend for many years and when he visited Ireland as part of science week back in 2010, I handed him my unit flash that I had taken off my uniform and said jokingly the next time you are in space would you mind bringing up my unit flash and taking a photo. We both laughed at this unlikely outcome, as Shane had already been in space on board STS-126 the Space Shuttle Endeavour that launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 14th November 2008, and returned to Edwards Air Force Base, California on 30th November 2008. Fast forward to early in 2015 to when I got an email from Shane letting me know that he had been chosen to command the upcoming 50th mission to the International Space Station that was due to launch towards the end of 2016. As Shane progressed through his training with his new Russian crewmates we kept in regular phone and email contact from Russia and Kazakhstan, so I knew how well it was going and how hard a task he had to mas- ter. From learning Russian to be able to operate the Soyuz vehicle in which he would be flying to space, to mastering the techniques he would need during his four planned space walks during his. As Shane neared the end of his training I received another email from NASA where I was asked to sign up for the ISS friends and family website that would be the easiest way to stay in touch while Shane was on board the ISS. Signing the non-disclosure document and giving my details I received the link and was soon able to familiarise myself with how I could remain in touch with my friend as he orbited the globe. Launch day came very quickly and a quick call from Shane a cou- ple of days before his launch from Baikonur was a great surprise to me. He was so calm on the other end of the phone; I think I was more nervous. But I knew the thousands of hours training he and his crewmates had put in to the preparation for this mission, and the thousands of people all over the world who also put in huge time and effort to ensure that it went off as smoothly. As you can expect while strapped into a small capsule perched on top of what is essentially a massive bomb and be blasted into space. I was able to watch the launch live on NASA TV. Needless to say my heart was in my mouth as I watched the countdown and while the main engine ignition to launch seemed to take an age. They eventually and gracefully rose from the launch pad and in a few minutes were entering their orbit around the planet. Completely engrossed and enthralled by the launch as well as the live feed from inside Soyuz as they rocketed away on their mission. Expedition 50 crewmem- bers Shane Kimbrough, Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on board Soyuz MS- From to Shane moving into his new accommodation.

• Cover