ROBINSON - Artistry and aMan in Orbit
Interview with an astronaut.

by SIMONE KUSSATZ, special guest writer

Had you ever thought that life on earth had become so overwhelming, sometimes even boring and dull, considering terrorism, war, natural catastrophes, overpopulation and starvation, that you wanted to escape somewhere to find complete solitude, even at the risk of losing your life? You’d better apply for a job as an astronaut.

That the life of an astronaut can be fun and tiring, but we know that this is due not only to the long hours at NASA, but from developing photographs and playing long sets in rock ‘n’ roll bands, as was proven to us by Stephen K. Robinson, astronaut of the space shuttle Discovery, four weeks after his return from a 13-day mission to the International Space Center in orbit.

Stephen Robinson received my phone call from Los Angeles at his office at NASA in Houston at 8:30 a.m. on September 7, 2005. In order to prevent the long-distance toll from being billed to my phone, Robinson called me back from his end, and I realized immediately from our cheerful conversation that he was not only a creative space explorer, but also a kind and thoughtful person. Very down-to-earth, Robinson knows he’s been lucky and fortunate, particularly after having been all the way to the International Space Center and back.

Simone Kussatz: Mr. Robinson, how are you this morning? Have you been able to assimilate to planet earth again?

Stephen K. Robinson: Yes. (He laughs) However, I am very tired this morning. I played rock’n’roll till late last night. Sure, life was more interesting in orbit.

Q: Since the media has already written so much about your engineering skills, I wanted to explore more of your other sides. I read that you're very artistic. Do you think you have a good sense of color?

A: Yes, I do. I grew up in a household with a lot of art. My mother is an artist. She does impressionist and landscape paintings. We had lots of art books at home.

Q: What artists do you like?

A: I love Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993). I have a favorite painting by him. It's one of his representational works with the perspective of someone looking out of a window in Santa Cruz. The painting is slightly more realistic. I also like his Ocean Park series and his cigar boxes. As a child I was fascinated by science fiction paintings, especially by the works of Chasley Bonestill (1888-1986). He’s a great magazine illustrator. He did paintings of space flights before anybody was flying in space. I also like the colorist Seldon Gile. He’s done great stuff.

Q: Do you have a favorite photograph taken during your trip to orbit?

A: We took several thousands. There is a picture of orbit on earth with thunderstorms at the terminator, the region between light and dark on the earth. The sun is very low on the horizon. The thunderstorms are casting shadows 200 miles long.

Q: What makes the colors in orbit different from the colors on earth, and what’s your favorite one?

A: The colors in orbit are always bright and intense, much more so than on earth. The various shades of blue are probably my favorite, especially at the edge of the atmosphere. The blue is illuminated and transparent. It changes all the time against the deepest black of space.

Q: Do you think you can create colors similar to the ones you’ve seen in orbit?

A: I like working with watercolors. They are more luminous. I doubt I can make them look they way they do in space. These colors are not meant to be duplicated.

Q: From all your sensorial experiences out in space, which one was the most impressive one?

A: The visual one. Also, the sense of touch, although I was wearing gloves.

Q: No sound? I heard something about the cosmic bells.

A: No. Nothing other than the ventilation fan inside the suit.

Q: Since light, or the lack of it, affects our state of mind, how was it being out there in orbit?

A: When the sun is down. It’s very dark. The deepest dark. But you do have light in the helmets to work by. And you have a gold covered visor to reduce glare when the sun is visible. When the sun is out, it creates shadows on the shuttle, which are very stark and well-defined with hard edges. This gives you a sense of hyper-three-dimensionality that you just don’t see on earth. You can also feel the temperature of the suit change when the sun comes out. The body gets warm within seconds. The cooling system in our astronaut suits adjusts and compensates to that.

Q: Do you have a favorite object in the solar system that you would like to paint?

A: It’s the earth. I am planning on doing a series of paintings of the earth that I’ve seen from orbit. Like an image of the thunderstorms on the South Pacific, or when the sun is casting shadows on the surface of the ocean. Or the moon when it touches the atmosphere, and changes its shape and color. Lightning is difficult to draw, so are the Southern Lights, the Aurora Australias. It wouldn’t look realistic, although they're fantastic. They have this luminous green, which is very peaceful.

Q: Being a scientist and artist, would you consider yourself more left-brained or right-brained?

A: I am fifty-fifty. My mother is an artist, my father was more into technology. I am just right in between.

Q: Creative people are often very emotional. Did you conduct any mental training, like visualization techniques before you went on the space walk?

A: Yes. You carefully imagine everything that could happen or is going to happen. You practice that over and over in your brain, for about an hour. One of the advantages to be better prepared for what’s out there, allows you to take in more of the new experiences from the environment. That makes the whole experience richer.

Q: Hence you didn't use any music to be in a state of relaxation?
A: No. Not for the preparation.

Q: You play quite a few instruments. What do you like playing most these days?

A: The guitar. We even have a guitar on the International Space Station. It was a pleasure to play it, and the experience of holding something wooden and organic like a guitar was a strong contrast to the aluminum and titanium surroundings.

Q: Since you had to stay completely focused while carrying out the engineering tasks (plugging out the gap fillers between the thermal tiles on the shuttle, and replacing the faulty gyroscope and MISSE 5 on the ISS), is the process of creating art an outlet for your emotions?

A: Yes, certainly. However, I was not able to do any sketches on board, but I took a lot of pictures. These were not technology photographs, but more artistic ones. I wanted to capture these really surrealistic scenes with fairly abstract patterns. You could see the soft pattern and colors of the earth with the organic hard angular pattern of the space shuttle.

Q: Aside from speaking the language of science, art, and music, you also speak Russian. Were you able to apply your Russian with Sergei Krikalev, when you met him on the International Space Center?

A: Yes, but just a few words.

Q: What other languages do you speak?

A: A bit of French.

Q: Were Sergei and John happy to see you?

A: Yes, they enjoyed receiving something edible from me.

Q: When you were living in Russia, did you have a chance to visit St. Petersburg to see the art?

A: St. Petersburg was wonderful. I was more impressed though by Moscow. I loved the Tretjakov Gallery. It’s huge. They have paintings from the 14th century up till now. It was a fantastic experience. They have many artists I haven’t heard of. Here we tend to concentrate more on Western art.

Q: So there are things on planet earth that are still interesting to you. Are you well traveled?

A: What do you mean? I just returned from orbit, thousands of miles away. (He laughs) Yes, I do come from a family that has traveled a lot and has changed countries. My parents are Canadians. Their parents were from Ireland, Scotland, and England.

Q: I heard artist Hiro Yamagata, whose installation has been at the Bilbao in Spain, eventually wants to do a laser show from out in space. Do you think that’s possible?

A: Yes, generally that will happen. The space should be a place for artists to use for their creations.

Q: Are you familiar with Oskar Fischinger's work? He did a series of space abstractions, which show his philosophical dialogue with the universe?

A: No. I haven't heard of him. However, there's a design and order in the universe that makes me believe in the divine.

Q: There is a quote I found in an article by Warren Leary that was published in the ‘New York Times,’ where you said that the surface of the shuttle’s belly is a piece of art. Can you tell us more about that?

A: Yes, the shuttle has a beautiful compound curve in every direction. It almost looks organic. Like a whale. Flying machines tend to be nicely curved. I loved the mosaic patterns of the Shuttle’s tiles.

Q: How was it using a podcast from orbit?

A: I used it just once. It’s great though. I do have a background in radio. I always loved radio. I used to be a DJ as well. I believe that podcast will be the radio of the future.

Q: You seem to be a very balanced person. You eat healthy food, you exercise regularly, you work creatively in your spare time. Do you have any weaknesses?

A: I have a bad sense of humor. I love puns and silly songs. That’s all I want to share right now.

Q: I read in an article that you didn’t want to return to earth. Apart from NASA, do you have any other attachments here?

A: Well, you can be only up in orbit for a certain amount of time, but then you want to be outside and breathe.

Q: In an article in ‘News Science’ you said it was the most fantastic experience in your life to be out there on the end of the arm all by yourself and to see no evidence of humans anywhere. Didn’t it make you feel alienated?

A: That’s an interesting question, I never considered that. As far as I am concerned, there is no good analogy to it. Maybe you can look at it as being on the highest mountain peak close to heaven, not only knowing what’s below, but also what’s above you. I felt such a sense of gratitude. Like all astronauts I feel very lucky and fortunate.

Q: In all the tasks you were conducting, which one was the most difficult one?

A: The preparation. The process of knowing how to use your tools, the care of your space suit and your body position.

Q: Of the three space trips you’ve taken, would you say that this one was the most exciting one?

A: Yes and no. There is no time like the first time. So the first one was probably the most exciting one. However, this one was special to me, because I've never done a spacewalk before, and ended up doing a total of three on this trip.

Q: Can you see yourself being stationed for a longer period of time at the International Space Center?

A: Yes, certainly. I am ready. Just send me there. (He laughs)

Q: Do you think there will be more stations in orbit? Some even further away from the earth?

A: Absolutely. We’ll go all the way to the surface of the moon and learn to live there. I think some great art could be created by humans on the moon!

Q: On July 30, there was an article published in the International Herald, where people were speculating that this was the last flight on the shuttle. Now, that it re-entered the atmosphere safely, do you think it’s true?

A: We will use it again, but its life is coming to an end.

Q: How come that the Soyuz did not show the same problems as the Discovery?

A: The Soyuz has a completely different technology. It’s a thin capsule. It doesn’t have any wings. It’s a good and reliable spacecraft. I’ve been trained in it. I loved this vehicle. It can only hold three people, whereas the shuttle can hold up to seven. It’s designed to do something completely different.

Q: Will flying in a space shuttle eventually become as normal as flying in a plane?

A: No, it’s too dangerous. You have to go so fast. It takes a tremendous amount of energy. Safety is very expensive.

Q: I once read that there will be space hotels in the future. Do you think tourism will keep expanding to orbit?

A: Certainly. But this will be also very expensive.

Q: Now we have just touched a delicate issue. Talking about the expenses of space explorations, how does one justify spending so much money on space craft when there are so many pressing security needs in America, like disaster recovery and the threat of terrorism? Should there be any feelings of guilt or regret that so much has been invested in the astronaut’s safety, but seemingly not for the flood victims in New Orleans?

A: I don’t feel any feelings of guilt or regret, but great empathy. I believe that most people don’t want to go without the development in technology. Technology improves society and makes us more civilized. It has always brought us forward in civilization. Because we do have a space program, we can predict hurricanes. We can observe them. We can make careful measurements of the atmosphere and the ocean condition. So it plays an important role.

Q: Thank you for the interview Mr. Robinson.

A: It was my pleasure.