Leland Melvin: An astronaut's story of curiosity, perspective and change
Леланд Мелвин: История космонавта о любознательности, мировосприятии и изменениях
Leland Melvin is an engineer, educator, former NASA astronaut and NFL wide receiver. He shares his stories of perseverance and excellence to inspire communities for lasting positive change. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
материалы для взрослых]
on the set in the front,
что происходило на экране.
для папы, сестры и мамы.
for my dad, and my sister and my mom.
move this way, we can't see the screen."
Попробуй обратно... Мы не видим экран...»
one giant leap for mankind."
и огромный скачок для человечества».
were walking on the Moon.
in Lynchburg, Virginia,
в Линчберге, штат Виргиния.
in a kind of somewhat racist town.
в немного, так сказать, расистском городе.
what I was going to do with my life.
я собирался делать со своей жизнью.
they were educators,
кем я захочу.
all the kids in the neighborhood
все дети в округе были такие типа:
an astronaut?"
А я такой типа: «Нет».
И я не вижу никого похожего на меня.
and I don't see someone who looks like me.
которые мы видим, важны.
on Pierce Street
на Пирс Стрит,
about his character, his discipline,
о его характере, дисциплине,
one of those moon guys.
he played in a band,
и играл в группе,
for my sister and I
with education.
связанные с образованием.
into the driveway with this bread truck.
к нашему дому на хлебном фургоне.
while my dad's driving the truck."
a bread guy now."
я теперь "хлебный" парень».
'Merita Bread and Rolls'
"Хлеб и булочки Мериты"»
to build this into our camper."
в дом на колёсах».
the entire electrical system.
to a Coleman stove,
к походной печке
vacation launch pad, escape pod,
стартовый комплекс, спасательную капсулу,
take us out of Lynchburg.
by some neighbors.
меня изнасиловали соседи.
that didn't have fathers.
у которых не было отцов.
that did that to his son.
которые сделали это с его сыном.
and escaped from Lynchburg,
и сбежали из Линчберга —
mountains' majesty.
in Myrtle Beach,
to be an explorer, at a very early age.
каково это — быть исследователем.
an age-inappropriate,
несоответствующий возрасту,
explosion in her living room.
взрыв в гостиной.
through a high school,
to play football in college.
играя в американский футбол в колледже.
because I'd already blown stuff up.
потому что уже что-то взорвал.
подколенное сухожилие на сборах.
they go work for NASA, right?
идёт работать в НАСА, верно?
"Leland, you'd be great astronaut."
«Ле́ланд, ты был бы отличным космонавтом».
I was like, "Yeah, me, an astronaut?"
«Ага, я — и космонавтом?»
thing from back in '69?
and I looked at it,
я взглянул на неё
filled out the application
заполнил анкету,
like that be astronauts,"
быть космонавтами,
the application, and I got in.
я заполнил анкету, и меня приняли.
what it meant to be an astronaut:
каково это — быть космонавтом:
for this countdown:
к обратному отсчёту.
"Atlantis," careening off the planet,
в космическом шаттле «Атлантис»,
and we're now floating in space.
и мы парим в космосе.
and float over to the window,
подплываю к иллюминатору
to describe the colors that I see.
чтобы описать то, что я вижу.
medium navy blue, turquoise
светло-синий, бирюзовый
to what I see with my eyes.
что я видел своими глазами.
была установка
Columbus laboratory.
два миллиарда долларов.
for human research.
и изучения человека.
of the space shuttle,
космического челнока.
and I attached it to the space station.
и присоединил его к космической станции.
10 years for this thing to get installed,
ждала установки этой штуковины.
"Leland! Leland! Leland!"
были такие типа: «Леланд! Леланд! Леланд!»
this was our primary mission objective,
Это была наша главная задача.
the first female commander,
первая женщина-командир МКС,
to the Russian segment.
about the size of a football field,
примерно как футбольное поле.
and all of these modules.
металлоконструкции и всякие модули.
принеси восстановленные овощи,
the rehydrated vegetables,
of vegetables, all rehydrated,
уже восстановленных,
back to my mother's kitchen.
на маминой кухне.
and barley heating up,
говядины с ячменём,
различаешь цвета,
from all around the world.
Asian American, French, German, Russian,
француз, немец, русский,
на скорости 28 163 км в час,
каждые 90 минут,
"Hey, Leland, try some of this,"
в направлении к моему рту.
and we'd go back and forth.
listening to Sade's "Smooth Operator."
Smooth Operator группы Sade.
blowing my mind, you know.
всё это немного сносит мне крышу.
and I look down at the planet,
смотрю на планету,
меняется в тот момент,
Virginia, my home town,
своим родным городом,
собралась за ужином.
we're flying over Paris,
is looking down at his parents,
как его родители,
borscht or something else.
или что-то ещё.
where we see our respective families
что все наши семьи
на скорости 28 163 км в час.
that little skinny boy,
худощавого паренька
штат Виргиния —
не возникло и мысли
of being an astronaut,
в то путешествие
with our own two hands.
которую мы построили своими руками.
и оно может поменяться.
do we open up our blinders
насколько мы открываем глаза,
и заметить перемены.
and Russians fighting Americans.
сражающихся с американцами.
living and working together.
French folks, you know.
русские ребята, французские ребята —
in harmony as one race.
в гармонии как единая раса.
the design of the modules,
о дизайне модулей,
a community, our home.
в сообщество и создаёт наш дом.
and looking there,
летящей там, я смотрю наверх
that I'm living and working with,
can do now, especially in these times,
может сделать, особенно в это время,
the right perspective.
чтобы иметь правильное мировосприятие.
could I just chat with you for a minute,
могу я с вами поговорить минуту,
some things here.
кое-что установить.
we watch a lot of space movies
мы смотрим много космических фильмов
to ask you, though,
this movie the other day,
что мы смотрели на днях один фильм.
one of your colleagues,
о ком-то из ваших коллег.
NASA wrote an obituary for him.
НАСА написало о нём некролог.
that you're putting yourself in
которой себя подвергаете,
writing my obituary,
мой некролог,
для программы «Аполлон».
shuttle flights that we've had,
that killed everyone on that mission.
в которых погибли все участники миссии.
and the risks that go along with this,
и рисках, сопровождающих нашу работу,
that's much bigger than ourselves,
что намного больше, чем мы сами.
when we get into that vehicle
когда забираемся в капсулу корабля,
of rocket fuel and go up to space.
ракетного топлива и взлетаем в космос.
the Hollywood version --
голливудскую версию —
I have to tell you.
должна вам сказать.
told me that a few times.
уже несколько раз советовал.
тема для обсуждений у нас дома.
that was very powerful and difficult,
и это было очень смело и непросто,
when you were five years old,
в пятилетнем возрасте,
for you to be able to say those things,
что вы смогли сказать это
в принципе говорить об этом —
is important for you to share that now,
чем бы вам хотелось поделиться,
to talk about things that have happened,
говорить о том, что мы испытали.
that we have to be so tough and so hard
что мы должны быть крутыми и жёсткими,
that are happening to us.
рассказывать о своих переживаниях.
contact me and tell me that,
которые говорили мне:
that are going on in them,
this is part of storytelling,
ведь одна из задач повествования —
whole as a community.
с нашим окружением.
you spoke about perspective shift,
изменение мировосприятия,
we've been very slow to accept
мы принимаем весьма медленно
so we thank you for that.
И мы благодарим вас за это.
the amazing astronaut that you are,
что вы удивительный космонавт,
на сцену TED, Леланд.
to the TED stage, Leland.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Leland Melvin - Engineer, educatorLeland Melvin is an engineer, educator, former NASA astronaut and NFL wide receiver. He shares his stories of perseverance and excellence to inspire communities for lasting positive change.
Why you should listen
Leland Melvin served on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis as a mission specialist on mission STS-122 (2008) and STS-129 (2009), helping to construct the International Space Station. He also served as co-chair of the White House's Federal Coordination in STEM Education Task Force and as NASA Associate Administrator for Education. He can currently be seen as a judge on ABC's robot competition series "BattleBots."
"Houston, we have a problem." Melvin was 25 feet under water in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, a six million gallon pool, training to perform spacewalks as a NASA astronaut when he called the test director and asked him to turn the volume up in his headset. He never heard a reply and was immediately hoisted out of the pool to learn that he was deaf. Emergency surgery resulting in only partial recovery to his hearing and led him to being medically disqualified to fly in space by NASA flight surgeons.
This is just one of the many career-ending challenges Melvin has overcome in his life. Before becoming an astronaut, he was drafted by the Detroit Lions to play professional football in 1986, but a hamstring injury thwarted his NFL career with Detroit and then later with the Dallas Cowboys. Through determination and perseverance, he ultimately traveled off-planet twice on Space Shuttle Atlantis to help construct the International Space Station, logging more than 565 hours in space. He's the only person drafted into the National Football League to have flown in space. The Pro Football Hall of Fame honored his athletic and academic accomplishments by placing his Detroit Lions jersey under glass in Canton, Ohio.
Melvin has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in materials science engineering. He worked at NASA Langley Research Center in the area of nondestructive testing creating optical fiber sensors for measuring damage in aerospace vehicles resulting in publications in numerous scientific journals. After hanging up his space boots, he was appointed head of NASA Education and served as the co-chair on the White House's Federal Coordination in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Task Force developing the nation's five-year STEM education plan. He was the United States representative and chair of the International Space Education Board (ISEB), a global collaboration in space. He holds five honorary doctorates for his service in education, the sciences and philanthropy.
Melvin's memoir, Chasing Space: An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances shares his personal journey from the gridiron to the stars and examines the intersecting roles of community, perseverance and grace that align to create the opportunities for success. A young reader's version of the book is available here.
Leland Melvin | Speaker | TED.com