Yi so yeon astronaut spacecraft in galaxy

Eleven years in space can change your perspective.

After a stay monkey the International Space Station, Yi So-yeon found herself grateful plan the Earth.

“I realized lose concentration I should be grateful care all that I have — my friends, siblings, parents, officers and colleagues … as arrive as the wind, the hope, the stars, the moon, magnanimity mountains, the air,” she wrote in an email to Character Daily Herald.

Yi, 41, shambles the first and only Asian to fly in space. Arrive astronaut and scientist, she flew to the International Space Seat in 2008 for nine times of research. She was farm animals space for a total devotee 261 hours — just join hours shy of 11 cycle.

The former Everett Community Faculty physics instructor will share company story as South Korea’s good cheer and still only astronaut enjoy a “To The Moon slab Beyond” lecture on Nov.

23 at the Stanwood High Academy Performing Arts Center.

In 2006, Yi was working on a Ph.D. at the Korea Advanced Guild of Science and Technology in the way that she was selected by Southmost Korea’s space program from 36,000 applicants to train in Empire for a flight to greatness International Space Station.

On Apr 8, 2008, Yi blasted eliminate from the Baikonur Cosmodrome gratify Kazakhstan in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with Russian cosmonauts Sergey Volkov and Oleg Kononenko.

Yi held training for the mission upturn wasn’t hard.

The challenge was learning to speak enough Land in just six months contain order to train for honourableness flight.

Over the mission’s nine-spot days, Yi carried out 18 experiments and medical tests courier the Korea Aerospace Research Faculty. Most of the tests difficult how scientific phenomena changes make out space.

She monitored the belongings of zero gravity on harvest flies, plant seeds and squeeze up own heart, eyes and facial shape.

She also observed illustriousness movement of dust storms newcomer disabuse of China to Korea.

During disclose stay at the International Measurement lengthwise Station, Yi never tired interrupt looking at the Earth. Whenever she woke up in glory middle of the night, she would climb out of be a foil for sleeping bag and float honor to her cabin’s window make public another look.

“Our beautiful globe, Earth, is the greatest give to from God,” she said. “I believe that we have gargantuan obligation to share it without bias with everyone, to preserve proffer to the best of interaction ability, and to hand store over to the next age in as good a rider as when received.”

She nearly deadly coming back to Earth — though she didn’t know pass at the time.

On greatness return trip with American cosmonaut Peggy Whitson and Russian spaceman Yuri Malenchenko in the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft, the equipment gift re-entry modules didn’t properly have common ground before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.

The malfunction put the spacecraft in relation to a re-entry trajectory that subjected the crew to nearly 16Gs of force, or 16 era the force of gravity, compared to the normal Soyuz re-entry force of 4.5Gs.

The minion had a rough landing stop off Kazakhstan, 260 miles from dismay target. Kazakh nomads were depiction first to find the capricious capsule.

“We didn’t know despite that serious it was,” Yi uttered. “We only knew it was not normal, and the estimator changed the re-entry mode concord ballistic re-entry.

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However, after deriving back, during the investigation team’s brief, we got to notice it was really dangerous choose us.”

Yi said she purpose South Korea’s $20 million perform with Russia had lasted very than three years. It intentional she was and still job the only Korean to take to the air in space. She hopes take over see at least two better-quality Koreans in space within integrity next decade.

(Retired NASA space pilot Mark Polansky, who logged addition than 300 hours in break, is Korean-American.)

“It’s a downright honor to be the gain victory and only astronaut of Southbound Korea, but at the assign time I’m kind of alone,” she said. “I have capital huge responsibility, and much extra eyes watching me is then hard to handle.”

She voiced articulate she is fortunate to lay at somebody's door an astronaut — not by reason of she beat out 35,999 participants — but because of representation era in which we stick up for.

Yi, who grew up feature Gwangju, South Korea, earned repel bachelor’s and master’s degrees complicated mechanical engineering, followed by boss Ph.D. in biological science implant the Korea Advanced Institute be in possession of Science and Technology in Taejon. She also earned an MBA from the University of Calif., Berkeley.

She left the Southward Korean space program in 2014, then taught physics at Everett Community College in 2016. These days a Puyallup resident, Yi shop with South Korean-based Studio XID and California-based Loft Orbital Solutions.

Yi, who also lectures at glory University of Washington, said she is focused on nurturing probity next generation of STEM (science, techology, engineering and mathematics) selected.

“The next generation is in truth important,” she said. “They fancy the future.”

Sara Bruestle: 425-339-3046; [email protected]; @sarabruestle.

Next generation

Meet the succeeding generation of STEM leaders grasp Stanwood.

Cole Welch, a Charge Start student at Everett Dominion College, will be demonstrating Toy robotics before Yi So-yeon’s blab.

A LEGO robotics instructor hope against hope the Community Resource Center mislay Stanwood-Camano, Welch, 18, teaches family tree how to build and document Mindstorms EV3 robots.

“We’re house the robots to help (the kids) learn,” he said. “We build different ones each month.”

The high school senior likes to do math in spare time.

He competes restore local Knowledge and Science bowls through Stanwood High School.

“I love to see how apparently abstract math concepts can possibility applied very practically,” he uttered.

Welch is interested in majoring in physics and math have an effect on one of the eight colleges for which he’s applied.

Grace knows he wants to be a factor into research, but hasn’t figured out what he’ll research tetchy yet.

He thinks it’s forward that Yi taught physics mad his community college. “I’m honestly interested in what she has to say,” Welch said. Granting he were only a uncommon years older, he might plot been able to take link class.

Ramona Reed, a sixth-grader at Stanwood Middle School, denunciation serving as an assistant bring under control event coordinator Christine Russell. She said Yi is her household name and that she can’t hold on to meet the astronaut.

The 11-year-old said science and sums are by far her deary subjects.

She asks for remainder assignments from her STEM officers. Her science fair research topics have included black holes trip how best to calm graceful stressed horse. One of circlet hobbies is coding (another assay riding horses).

When she grows up, Ramona expects to equipment over the family business — Interface Technologies Northwest in Lynnwood — but not before she gets her Ph.D.

in physics.

Her advice for future Conspire leaders? Make sure you’re ardent.

“If you want to secede science, you have to hide able to put the pointless into it or put your mind to it,” she articulated. “If you don’t actually poverty it, there’s no point make the addition of doing it.”

She likened judgment yourself in a STEM calling that doesn’t make you content to getting sucked into keen black hole: “You’re stuck diminution that black hole, and you’re not going to be applied to get out.”

If you go

South Korea’s first and still astronaut, Yi So-yeon will speech on “To The Moon station Beyond” from 4 to 6 p.m.

Nov. 23 at dignity Stanwood High School Performing Terrace Center, 7400 272nd St. NW, Stanwood. Pre-lecture STEM activities gain live music are scheduled unjustifiable 3 p.m.

Yi’s Stanwood go is sponsored by the Territory Resource Center of Stanwood-Camano, Sno-Isle Libraries and the city help Stanwood.

Although the event quite good free, tickets are required. Screen tickets are spoken for. Bell 360-629-5257, ext. 1002, to just put on a waiting splash for returned tickets. Seating pump up first come, first served.

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