November Book Club Selection: My Dream of Stars
Space traveler and entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari will discuss her book and answer questions online from November 15 to 19.
- AirSpaceMag.com, November 10, 2010
airspacemag.com
This month's book club pick is My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer, by space traveler, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Anousheh Ansari with author Homer Hickam.
Ansari (read our 2007 interview) is the world’s first female commercial spaceflight explorer: She spent eight days aboard the International Space Station in 2006. She was also the principal sponsor of the Ansari X-Prize that led to the first commercial space flight by SpaceShipOne in 2004. Hickam, an Air & Space contributor, is the author of the New York Times bestseller Rocket Boys.
The authors will be answering questions online during the week of November 15 to 19. Use the form below to submit your questions or comments on other posts.
The following excerpt is from the chapter “At Home Among the Stars.”
Some of my favorite places are Paris, Star City, the Hawaiian island of Kauai, Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera, and Yosemite National Park. But I must tell you my favorite place of all is the International Space Station, and in particular my little nook in the Unity airlock attached between the FGB and the Service Module. I was in heaven there because I could play my favorite music and think of my favorite times, all the while enjoying the majesty of soaring over the whole Earth. Within a day, the space station had become a very dear place to me, a place I savored and never really wanted to leave. If it was not for Hamid [Ansari’s husband] and my family, I would have gladly signed up to stay another six months, six years, perhaps the rest of my life. This is how much I loved being in space.
The best part was at night when I could see the stars. They were simply unbelievable. It was as if someone had spread diamond dust over a black velvet blanket. When I was supposed to be sleeping, I put my head to the window and stayed there until the coldness of the glass gave me a headache. As I gazed out, I thanked God again for giving me this experience. I also thanked Him for letting my inner voice carry out through my blogs and I asked Him to give me the vision to see my path in life and the strength to pursue it. These were the most peaceful moments I had ever experienced in my life and I felt a great source of positive energy. I had such a hard time sleeping because I kept forcing my eyes open to see the beauty and take it all in. Only a second longer I would tell myself. Then I would tell myself the same thing again. And again.
Excerpted from My Dream of Stars by Anousheh Ansari. Copyright 2010 by the author and reprinted by permission of Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited.
Comments (18)
Hi, I'm Anousheh Ansari. I'm happy to be sharing my life story, including my experience aboard the International Space Station, with you through my new book "My Dream of Stars. I look forward to read your comments and answer your questions online.
Posted by Anousheh on November 14,2010 | 10:16 PM
Is living in micro-gravity as fun as it looks?
Posted by Ashley Brown on November 15,2010 | 10:48 AM
Is it true that food tastes bland in space? What were your favorite meals aboard the International Space Station?
Posted by Geoff Maynard on November 15,2010 | 01:57 PM
Can you comment on the beauty of Earth as seen from space?
Posted by Jeremy Schecter on November 15,2010 | 04:12 PM
Is it true that food tastes bland in space? What were your favorite foods aboard the International Space Station?
Posted by Geoff Maynard on November 15,2010 | 06:44 PM
Hi Geoff - the food tastes different in space and over time, the astronauts who stay up there for 6 months develop different taste as well. People tend to like more spicy food on the station.
I love junk food specially Chocolate. I think i ate all the M&M onboard :)
Posted by Anousheh on November 16,2010 | 02:01 PM
Hi Jeremy - I actually talk about the first time i saw earth from space in the book in detail. Seeing Earth from space is not like any of the pictures you see. There is something missing in the pictures. When you see it with your own eyes you can feel life and warmth radiating from it. it was the most memorable moment of my trip. The blue colors mixed in with the white clouds and accented by the brown and green of the earth masses is like a beautiful painting.
Posted by Anousheh on November 16,2010 | 02:06 PM
Hi Ashley - floating in micro gravity is tons of fun. you can go to my website www.anoushehansari.com and watch some video and pictures there. in Micro gravity, even the smallest tasks become fun. Brushing your teeth while spinning in air, or playing catch with your food and chasing a water bubble... it is an incredible experience
Posted by Anousheh on November 16,2010 | 02:09 PM
In your quest to go to space you must have met many Non Believers, who thought your dream was rubbish and when you were training, when things got physicaly almost making you give up. What was the picture you had of space that kept you going for your goal? And at what stage in space did you believe you had reached your goal?
Posted by John Dwyer on November 16,2010 | 04:13 PM
Hello Anousheh,
Many astronauts say that the first time they experience weightlessness it felt not so much like floating, but more like falling. Other astronauts say it felt like they were suddenly upside-down. What exactly did it feel like for you in the first moments? Did you experience any space sickness?
And: How did you sleep your very first "night?" I'd think your body would have been so freaked out by the falling sensation that it would be hard to get to sleep. Thank you!
Posted by Jim Ostermann on November 16,2010 | 04:17 PM
Hi John
Very interesting question. I guess the image i had in mind was floating weightless amongst the stars - peaceful - quiet - free -
I really believed I'm in space when I saw Earth for the first time form space. it was a beautiful and touching moment - but i guess my mission was not complete until the last day i landed back on earth. When I was pulled out of the charred soyuz capsule in the deserts of Kazakhstan ... my body completely exhausted from the 7 month rush i was on and feeling the cold morning air dry the beads of sweat on my face and feeling more alive than ever.
Posted by Anousheh on November 16,2010 | 05:12 PM
DId you ever get sick of being without gravity? After a few days, did you think, "This is getting a little old"?
Posted by Tammy Rebholz on November 16,2010 | 06:18 PM
With the upcoming retirement of NASA's space shuttle program, how quickly do you think the commercial space industry can fill the void in manned space exploration?
Posted by John Komorov on November 17,2010 | 12:25 PM
The Soyuz looks so cramped! How long was it from the time you buckled into your Soyuz couch before launch until you entered the the ISS? Was the Soyuz unpleasantly confining? Did you ever feel claustrophobic? How many times had you simulated that phase of the mission?
Posted by Margaret Winslow on November 17,2010 | 12:45 PM
Dear John,non believers are everywhere all around us. I have learned to pretty much ignore them. When things got tough the image that was most vivid in my mind was the image of me floating weightless amongst the stars - Peaceful - free-
I knew i had accomplished my dream when i felt the cool fresh Kazakh air caress my face and dry the beads of sweat on my face - when i felt the exhaustion in my body after seven month of adrenaline rush and i felt the warmth of the faint morning sun breath life back to into my body.
Posted by Anousheh on November 18,2010 | 09:48 PM
Hi Jim,
It is really hard to fully explain the sensation of weightlessness. I did not feel like falling or being upside down. I guess the closest thing would be the feeling you get when sinking into deep water. It is not something you get tired of easily. I have learned that we are very adaptive creature. We can fairly quickly adapt to new environments so you learn how to live in micro gravity and it becomes the norm after a while.
The launch day is pretty hectic so by the time you are in orbit you are pretty exhausted and i personally didn't have nay problem sleeping. The first night you are still in the Soyuz so i slept in my sleeping bag hanging upside down on the central axis of the Soyuz. I describe the first night in the book and in my blog in more details.
Posted by Anousheh on November 18,2010 | 09:58 PM
Hi Tammy - Do you ever get tired of Chocolate :)
i don't think you can ever get tired of weightlessness
Posted by Anousheh on November 18,2010 | 09:59 PM
Hi Margaret,
It takes about 48 hrs to reach ISS. The Soyuz is pretty small but as long as you keep your sight on the destination then you don't mind the confined space.
We had many simulations session but at least 4 real time sims. it really help you prepare for the real thing.
Posted by Anousheh on November 18,2010 | 10:22 PM