This STS-116 space shuttle mission to the International Space Station in 2006 was my last before I retired. I got to do seven spacewalks in my entire career. In the picture, Im out on the end of the truss, attached by a retracting wire that you have to constantly check isnt tangling. The object by my left leg is a remote camera. There are cameras all over the outside of space stations, so if the crew want to look at part of the truss or station, they can pan and tilt the camera to see. It was broken, so I was swapping it for a new one. <\/p>\n
That was one of several tasks I had to complete on the 13-day mission. I was the flight engineer, so my job was to keep everything running while we were in orbit and prep the vehicle in the morning for operation. I was also lead spacewalker, so I had to rewire the space station. We did it the way youd move a lamp to another power source you turn the lamp off, unplug it, plug it in somewhere else and turn it back on. <\/p>\n
We also brought up a new piece of equipment, a P5 truss (a portside arm of the space station, the kind Im attached to in the picture) to add to the station. Three of the nine people in the crew had been on the station for five months when we arrived. <\/p>\n
Statistically, spacewalking is the most dangerous thing Ive ever done; but I wasnt scared, except about screwing up. For every hour we spend in space, we spend 10-20 hours training in simulators. We rehearse spacewalks in a virtual-reality lab with a model of the space station in it; and also in the neutral buoyancy lab, the biggest swimming pool in the world. Its 66m x 33m, and 13m deep, with a full-size mock-up of the space station. The way you float around in water is similar to how you float in space. <\/p>\n
Then theres the Pogo: youre suspended from the ceiling in a harness on a column of air so you can practise things like using your cordless drill. Since every action has an equal and opposite reaction, when youre trying to tighten a bolt in space, its just as likely that youll spin around as the bolt, so you have to learn techniques to stabilise your body. <\/p>\n
I contaminated the outside of my suit with anhydrous ammonia (a highly toxic and flammable substance) on my first spacewalk. Before I could go back inside, I had to go to a very sunny part of the space station so the chemical would bake off. That was the first time I could just look at Earth while I was outside. Its amazing how much you recognise: big cities like London and Paris; the aurora borealis hovering over the Nordic countries; the Amazon rainforest. This is a gorgeous planet we live on. <\/p>\n
You can also see the effect mankind has. How cities, especially American cities, look like ugly grey splotches; pollution in the runoff from river deltas; deforestation. If you dont go to space a conservationist, youll come back as one. <\/p>\n
This is my favourite picture from all my time in space. I thank my lucky stars that the guys inside the spacecraft thought to take it, because the only thing you get to bring back is your pictures.I have a poster of it at home. I dont point at it and say, Thats me in the picture, though. I know. Thats good enough for me. <\/p>\n
Are you in a famous photograph? Email thatsme@theguardian.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: This STS-116 space shuttle mission to the International Space Station in 2006 was my last before I retired. I got to do seven spacewalks in my entire career Continue reading
\nThats me in the picture: Robert Curbeam performs a spacewalk over New Zealand, 12 December 2006<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"