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Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, Ted Cruz
First Broadcast 31 May 2020
[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio] Senator Cruz: Well congratulations, gentlemen. The eyes of the world are upon you and everyone is proud of you. All of...America is watching you. And today and yesterday represent big, big days. We're looking at a decade since we've had American astronauts launched on an American ship from American soil.
And I can tell you, I sat with my wife and kids in our living room watching on TV yesterday, and I suspect we did what just about everyone watching did, including both of you, which is held our breath as it took off. And we're glad to see you've landed safely. We're glad to see you've docked. And -- And so let me ask you: That Dragon is...an amazing vehicle. How does she handle? Doug Hurley: It flew just like it was supposed to. It was -- we had a couple opportunities to take it out for a spin, so to speak1 -- once after we got into orbit last night and again today about 20 minutes before we docked. And my compliments to the folks back at Hawthorne and SpaceX for how well it flew. It is exactly like the simulator and we couldn't be happier about the performance of the vehicle. Senator Cruz: What do you guys hope to accomplish in your time on International Space Station? Bob Behnken: Well, while we're onboard the space station, of course with the new spacecraft, we do hope to put her through our paces. And so the good ship Endeavour is going to get a lot of a check out over the next week or two here, and hopefully we'll be able to declare her operational. And Doug and I will be able to take some burden off of Chris and his crewmates, Ivan and Anatoli, so that we can keep the space station operating at its peak possibilities. So we're looking forward to contributing any way that we can, and, like I said, trying to keep space station as productive as possible. Senator Cruz: As a country, we're in the midst of a tough week. We're seeing protests. We're seeing a lot of anger. We're seeing violence. And I have to say this launch and y'all's docking is...a powerful inspiration of what we can do when we come together, of the power of unity, the power of ingenuity. And...so I guess the last question I would ask you is -- is since you have the opportunity to address in particular all the young people in America -- what would you tell them in terms of what we can do when we can come together? Doug Hurley: You know that's a great question. Nine years ago -- just about exactly nine years ago, we docked with Atlantis on STS 135 -- the last flight of the space shuttle program, a 30-year program. And folks at SpaceX, folks at NASA, the Commercial Crew Program, put their heads together and worked diligently, year after year, making sacrifices, working hard. And then nine years later, American launch capability was restored. And this is just one -- one effort that we can show for the ages, in this dark time that we've had over the past several months, to kind of inspire, especially the young people in the United States, to -- to reach for these lofty goals and work hard and look what you can accomplish. Senator Cruz: Thank you, gentlemen. God bless you.
1 A joint rhetorical exercise in metaphor building -- perhaps planned -- to create a warm sense of familiarity with a previously unknown entity." Both speakers are engaging a strategic rhetorical process whereby the alienation pursuant to an unknown experience (with a new rocket, and perhaps even a new American rocket era) is supplanted metaphorically with a familiar experience (taking a new automobile "out for a spin" -- in response to the prompt "How does she handle"). Interesting that Hurley does not overtly accept the the Senator's gendered personification ("she:") as part of this strategic process. Audio and Video Source: JSC PAO Video Collection at the Internet Archive Image Source: NASA.gov Audio Note: Extended pauses for transmission latency edited out. All delivered content preserved. Video Note: Frame interpolated from 30fps to 50fps Page Updated: 1/3/24 U.S. Copyright Status: Text, Audio, Video, Image = Used in compliance with the terms located here. |
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